


Living with a Family of Eight

by SmolKiwii



Category: Dragon Ball Z
Genre: Cell and Jrs aliens rescued from gladiator arena, Cell not an instructor or part of the major Dragon Ball timeline, Don't think too hard on how it affects canon Dragon Ball, F/M, Fluff Cell, M/M, Other, Reader kinda a parent to the Jrs, Slow Burn, TFS Cell Jr Names, Teaching Cell to be a Dad, Wanted to have fun with an AU, Xenoverse 2 AU, gender neutral reader
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-10
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2020-10-13 17:11:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 59,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20586068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SmolKiwii/pseuds/SmolKiwii
Summary: Seven months ago you fought in a alien gladiator arena in an obscure alternate timeline and came out with a lovable family of eight humanoid bug aliens. You love the seven children you adopted, but the father of said children is an ass. Just how are you going to teach him to behave like a functioning citizen of Conton City if he can't stop fighting with you for five seconds? You are very patient, but he seems to be very good at wearing down your nerves.





	1. Warm Welcome

You dragged your feet towards your apartment door and sighed in exhaustion.

Battered and bruised from the day's work, you wanted to have a quiet and relaxing evening. 

But that wasn't going to happen.

You reluctantly reached towards the doorknob and latched your keys into it. You paused for one more breath of peace before you quickly turned the doorknob and swung the door open.

You didn't even manage to walk in before a swarm of children slammed you into the ground. Their hard exoskeleton made it feel like you where hit by an avalanche of rocks.

You loved them, you really did, but today was not a good day.

It has been a rough couple of months since time rifts began to appear all over Conton City, and today your patrolling team finally cracked under the pressure.

All patrollers have been forced to shoulder extra working hours, which had you and your team worn down to the bone. 

But what complicated things even more was the fact that parties of five became mandatory for the rift excursions. 

Your team only had four members.

Usually, when a fifth member was needed your party would invite a friend or acquaintance to fill in. But the time rifts have all those trustworthy people busy in their own teams, so your party would be forced to take in a random lone patroller on every rift. If the party was lucky, you'd get someone useful and co-operative. But if the opposite was true, you'd all be stuck with an annoying hotshot that was trying to build up their rank. 

And when that happened: the mission would end with the little whiny hotshot getting knocked out, or a complete team wipe out, or the hotshot sabotaging the party to finish the whole mission on their own.

Today the wheel of fortune landed on the hotshot who finished the mission on their own so they could reap all the damage points.

Your party was livid, not at the fact that the mission was basically stolen from all of you, but because nothing was done to stop it from happening. 

It's not like the four of you could take on a God class patroller, but none of you where thinking logically about the incident. All of you where tired and just wanted to blame someone about the failed mission, or at least that's how you felt.

Now you can't even recall what you said back then...hopefully it wasn't anything too bad.

Sometimes you wish the time rifts never happened.

Yet, if the rifts hadn't appeared, you would have never ended up adopting all of these kids. 

Well, more like _ rescuing _ them from a gladiator arena….

...or more like _ smuggling _ them from an obscure alternate timeline, as the Supreme Kai of Time puts it.

Jeez.

You almost got fired back then, if it weren't for Trunks, that is. 

Even then...despite all the new regulations and security procedures you accidentally created by doing so...you don't regret taking in those children.

You laughed out loud as the kids began to tangle around you, seemingly trying to hug you.

In the most collected tone you could manage, which wasn't that great because you would burst with giggles in between words, you asked the septuplets to let you get up. 

They let you move, but still clung to you and bombarded you with an absurd amount of questions you couldn't possibly answer. There where so many and with no pauses in between, the only thing you could say was that you missed them as well.

With at least one child hanging from each limb, one perched on top of your head, one clinging to your back, and another buzzing around you in circles, you made your way to the bathroom and stopped at the door.

“Alright kids, I'm going to take a bath, so I'm going to need you to let go now”.

The children's eyes lit up with joy and their chatter became even louder.

“A bath?”.

“Yay bath!”.

“Let's take a bath!”.

You purse your lips, carefully thinking how you where going to tell them they where not invited.

You always let them join you in your baths, even if they roughhoused in the water and made a mess. It was fun playing with them and they always tried their best to clean up afterwards. 

But right now, the joy of seeing them after a long day was being overcome by the ache of your weary muscles.

“Um, kids”, you gently began prying them off you, “I'm going to bathe on my own today, okay?”.

The excitement in their faces was immediately wiped away and replaced with unique expressions of hurt.

Norio stopped his buzzing about and landed in front of you, red in the face with anger.

Dale began to tighten his grip on your back, not willing to back down without a fight.

Junior let go of one of your arms and looked up at you in genuine concern.

Meanwhile, Dameon began climbing up your other arm and pulled your hair as he loudly complained about you being unfair.

Jonathan and Travis, who where holding on to your legs, began to tear up.

But your sight was torn away from them as Curtis, who was sitting on your shoulders now, moved your face to his own. He began scanning your face, as if he didn't believe you just said no.

“C’mon kids! We can bathe together some other time! I promise!”.

Junior began sniffling as he choked out, “You're angry at us”.

And that's when hell broke loose and everyone began to burst into tears.

“No, I'm not! Please don't cry-”

“ That's enough”, a stone cold voice cut through the room, “ You're all being disgustingly weak. You know how I feel about weakness”.

Cell glared from across the room, you hadn't even noticed he was sitting on the couch. Actually, you had forgotten he existed at all.

But his cruel words gave him form, a constant reminder that he, too, was part of the pack you had taken in.

The room fell into a sudden hush. 

The kids visibly deflated and hung their heads low in fear, and silently shuffled their way towards him.

One by one they began to sit around Cell, being careful to avoid eye contact with him.

You tighten your jaw shut. It was upsetting how Cell treated the kids sometimes.

Now you really wished you would have let the children bathe with you.

You sighed in frustration and retired into the bathroom, you couldn't deal with that right now. Not after today.

There was a lot you had to get used to when you decided to adopt this odd bug family of eight. But certainly, the cultural differences and views was the one factor you couldn't completely understand. 

Well...more like accept.

The Supreme Kai of Time wasn't kidding when she warned you about the species being a type of sanguinary lone predator. Cell sure behaved like one...

So many times you've had to try and get Cell to stop chastising the kids for showing “physical weakness”, such as losing fights and having limits to their strengths. And also for showing “emotional weakness”, such as compassion or kindness towards each other.

It was 'imperfect', he argued, for them to have such shortcomings.

It was a strange sort of 'perfection' he was trying to build into the kids, honestly it got you more than frustrated. It made you terrified of what their homeworld must be like. But most importantly, it made you deeply afraid of Cell.

You could never get a good reading on the guy. One day he will go on a murderous rampage and never show signs of the buildup to it.

However, not all was bad.

The kids are a little messy and mischievous, but they always mean well. Their liveliness has often been something to look forward to when you come home.

Not only that, but the Kai of Time was kind enough to promote you to a bigger living complex so you could properly accommodate them, too.

You missed sharing an apartment with your friends, but damn you weren't going to complain about a Super tier luxury suite with a beach side view.

You sunk into the jacuzzi as your cherry bath bomb began to melt into the water.

This was just what you needed after such a stressful day.

After your long bath, you left the door of your room slightly ajar as an invitation for the kids to come and sleep with you if they wanted. They usually didn't sneak into your room at night, but you felt that they wouldn't want to stay in their nest with Cell after they had gotten him upset.

And in the middle of the night, one by one, they began to crawl into your bed. You smiled to yourself as they snuggled closer to you.

Soft content chitters lulled you to sleep.


	2. Change of Routine

Three figures where gathered in front of the waterfall past the bamboo forest, patiently waiting for you.

You where late today, since the kids had decided your alarm clock was too noisy and destroyed it. You still couldn't believe you slept through _ that _ ruckus.

No one greeted you when you arrived, or even bothered looking your way. You where hoping the tension from yesterday would be gone by now, but guess not.

You fidgeted in place, not knowing what to do or what to say.

But thankfully, Jicama decided to step up.

“Alright, alright. That's enough everyone”, her brown furry tail swished in agitation behind her, “What happened yesterday was out of our control, it's not like we could choose who gets to be the fifth member of the team".

She crossed her arms and impatiently tapped her foot on the ground and sighed before speaking up again.

"It's irritating that God tier patrollers are stuck up pieces of-". You elbowed Jicama and gestured towards Manus, reminding her to hold back curses in front of him. "-I mean..uh..it sucks that..that they can get away with basically anything, but that doesn't mean we should fight over it".

Jicama tapped her fingers over her crossed arms, "I already filed a report to Trunks about it, hopefully he can fix that".

Yule rolled his eyes, "Aandd that would be, what, our fifth report?", he bitterly muttered. However, it was loud enough for everyone to hear, which killed Jicama's efforts at a speech.

But Yule was right, it was unlikely that the issue would be solved since the time rifts took all the attention at the moment.

"Oh, c'mon". Jicama huffed as her arms flopped down to her side. "We are a _ team _, we can't just give each other the silent treatment forever”.

“We can, if Manus doesn't apologize for insulting my jacket”, Yule turned away from the group in indignation.

“I'm just saying, maybe if it wasn't so bright, we wouldn't have been found out by the bad guys so soon”, Manus crossed his arms over his chest in defiance.

Jicama almost pulled her hair out of her scalp in frustration, “Manus! You're literally a giant green namekian in full body armor! And Yule is a lilac ice-demon! You both stand out like a sore thumb!”.

You couldn't help but snicker a bit at that, “She's right, so no matter what, stealth wasn't an option for us. Plus, being found out wasn't completely our fault".

“Exactly, it was that no-good God class scum. Now apologize to Yule, so we can actually get a short training session in”, Jicama patted Manus’ back in encouragement.

“Short?”, Yule looked over his shoulder Jicama in confusion.

“Yeah, short”, she clenched her fists in anger and avoided eye contact with you all , “I’m sorry. We wouldn't have broken down yesterday if I had given you all time to breath in between missions”.

"I can't believe I even made us all continue to work just after the whole gladiator arena fiasco". She gathered the courage to look into her teammates faces once more. “So I hope you can all forgive me. But for now, I decided to cut down the training time a bit. We'll be out of here by noon, instead of by sunset”.

Manus tilted his head in confusion, “Only five hours of training? That's hardly a warm up”.

Yule slowly turned to face your leader with anger flickering in his eyes, “If we do that, we’ll fall down in ranks in no time. Then those snobby God tiers will walk over us even more", he spat.

“I'd rather be at the bottom of the list than overworking you guys to the point we become weaker as a team”. 

The group fell into silence, deep in thought at Jicama's words.

Manus was the first to break the deafness between the team, “Your jacket is cool, Yule”.

Yule laughed at the suddenness of Manus’ complement, “Hey, apology accepted, big guy. Now let's get some training in, huh?”.

It was strange going home so early, but you where grateful for it. You'd get to spend more time with the kids now.

But Manus was wrong about it being ‘less than a warm up’. In exchange for a short training session, Jicama increased the intensity of the workout. This had you dragging your feet as you walked home, since you where too tired to even fly. Now you wished you hadn't sold your old capsule hoverboard, but paying bills was difficult with such a huge household to care of.

Hopefully the kids would let you rest a bit when you got home.

Oh, who where you kidding? You where going to have to sneak into your own house if you wanted some type of rest.

You silently approached your door and peeked into the apartment.

No one in sight.

You sneaked in and locked the door behind you.

Still no one around, but now you could hear a faint clang of pots in the kitchen.

Your heart dropped.

Those little demons where making a mess in your kitchen!

You sprinted through the living room and into the dinning room, and skidded to a stop when you barged into the kitchen.

The dark tiled floor, the pale quartz countertops, as well as the peach colored walls, where as spotless as you had left them this morning.

Only one other being was in the kitchen besides yourself, and he was staring right at you.

Cell?

You caught him in the middle of... preparing a meal?

The splashing of diced vegetables into a pot brought you back to reality. 

You blinked in confusion. Cell was in the kitchen. 

He was _ using _ the kitchen. 

And it's still all in one piece.

He hastily averted your gaze and turned away from you, his focus remaining on stirring and checking the pots in front of him.

“Uhh, hey. What you doing there?”, you awkwardly rubbed your arm, waiting for a response.

But he didn't answer, he just walked to the fridge and got more ingredients for whatever he was making.

You rubbed your neck, trying to avoid suffocating with the silence.

“Well, it smells great”, you nervously laughed out.

Cell finally spared you a glance, but did not say anything as he dug through a large plastic bag and took out a raw chicken. It seemed he had let it marinate in something.

“I didn't even think you knew how to cook, to be honest”.

Cell stopped his carving and slowly blinked, “And you assumed I'd just starve along with my offspring?”.

“No! Of course not!”, you defensively held up your hands in front of yourself, “It's just that the kids always seemed excited when I cook for them, so I assumed you guys just ate everything raw?”.

“They're always excited to eat, you aren't special”, Cell spat in contempt as he set aside his sliced chicken and pulled out another one out of his bag.

You sighed quietly before trying to divert the conversation to something else, “ Well, speaking of, where are those cuties? It's awfully quiet here”.

“They are taking a nap right now”.

“Really? They are always so full of energy”, you wondered out loud.

Cell stopped in the middle of his carving and began to grill some pieces of chicken on the stove, turning his back to you.

“Your friend”. He opened a pot in front of him, making sure the contents where alright. “She insists that resting is important for them, so she reads them to sleep”.

Right.

Maria had promised to help you out with the family of eight. She comes to keep an eye on them every now and then, but you never knew she'd actually have the time to_ babysit_ the kids. Least of all, have time to teach Cell about parenting.

But something wasn't right.

“She dropped by today?”, you tilted your head in confusion, “That's weird, she told me she wouldn't be able to check on you guys this week”.

_Clang _

Cell forcefully shut the pot closed before resuming his grilling.

It startled you a bit, but you caught the gist of the action: he was done talking with you.

You thought over everything you had said, but nothing that could have been taken offensively was there.

You had only mentioned Maria wasn't here to read the kids to sleep..

Perhaps… He?

No, Cell couldn't read, you haven't taught him or the boys how to do that yet.

Then how else did those rowdy kids agree to a nap?

Wait...its Cell who put them to nap. He obviously intimidated the kids into going to sleep.

But why he'd do that? Did he really think that highly of Maria that he'd take her advice seriously?

No, Cell hated her, he said so himself before...

Ugh… you felt a headache coming on.

It would be best to just let this go for now.

You politely dismissed yourself before leaving Cell to his cooking...

To his cooking..

He really was whipping up a meal, huh?

  
  


All of this was so odd, you didn't think the family would fall so rapidly into a domestic life.

From the violence and abuse under the life as a beast for gladiators, to a peaceful and serene home: that was too much of an environmental gap.

But in only seven months, this family had managed to settle in quite nicely. Well, to some extent. 

They still had much to learn, especially Cell.

For now, they where doing great, and you would make sure to help them forget the hardships of the past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup, have had this bad boy marinating in docs for a bit. First five chapters up in a day :)


	3. Play Time

You sank into the couch, trying to forget about the stressful union meeting you'd just come back from. The human representatives just couldn't agree on what they wanted for the next contract renewal, not to mention most of the demands would be impossible to enact. Especially those conflicts concerning the time rifts, which were plenty.

But the one problem that always showed up was how to reduce human discrimination in the fighting community. It was hard to come up with successful ways to increase human recruitment in high-ranking patrol teams, heck, even with some high-ranking tutors.

Luckily, the kids took your mind off of all that with their idle chatter.

Jonathan pulled at your blouse, “Why do you wear these things?”, he questioned.

“You mean... clothes?”.

Jonathan nodded.

You hummed in thought before answering, “My skin is weak, I won't survive for long being all exposed”.

The kids gave each other looks of confusion, until Curtis decided to speak up, “But you're really strong, even then you need those things on you?”.

Travis pulled at your arm to catch your attention, “And why do you need so many of these 'clothes’?”.

The other kids seem to mumble in agreement.

You tilt your head a bit, thinking of a good answer.

“Well, even if I'm strong, I can't really fight off the elements. If I'm under the sun too long my skin will burn, or if I'm exposed to the cold it will crack”. You knitted your brows together in concentration. “And I have many clothes because I can't wear one set for too long. First of all, not all clothes have the same function. Some are warmer than others, or hold a social value in them. Second, humans smell pretty strong. So we'll get stinky eventually”.

The youth quickly chattered among themselves, seemingly satisfied with your answers.

That is, until Jonathan decided to bring something else up, “So you bathe because you stink? Not because you like the water?”.

“I do it for both, honestly”, you chuckled. 

Jonathan didn't seem satisfied with that, so he continued to pry. “But why do you have a special water room to do it? Why don't you just swim in the ocean outside?”.

“Because humans are nothing like us”, Cell interjected, "They are far from perfect".

You didn't even notice he had sneaked up behind the couch. How long has he been listening in?

No matter, you doubt he'd really care about such mundane things. He was only here to pick a fight.

You sighed and looked up at him, “For the last time, I'm not gonna spar with you”.

Cell crossed his arms in front of him and gave you an irritated frown. “Scared?”.

“On the verge of falling asleep, really”, you yawn as you snuggle the children you could hold closer to you.

Curtis leaned back on your chest and mirrored Cell. “Yeah, me too! I'm bored!”.

A storm of complaints fell on your ears, some of the kids even started to pull you off of the couch.

Dale buzzed around you repeatedly shouting, “Let's go play outside!”.

You where about to protest but Junior pulled at the hem of your blouse and sweetly pleaded, “Please? We never get to go outside”.

You rolled your eyes and groaned in irritation because now you couldn't say no.

“I'm going to change into more comfortable clothes, then we'll go out to the beach ok?”.

The children cheered as you headed to your room to get changed.

The cool salted water gently pushed against your knees. You rarely got to spend time outside with the kids, so you decided to enjoy the occasion and play with them.

Specifically, you where going to share with them the joy of volleyball.

“And if it hits the floor of the other team, we get a point. Any questions?”.

Curtis crossed his arms and smirked, “But it can't hit the floor, it's going to float”.

“Ok, if it hits the _ water _ at your side of the net, then”. You raised the ball above your head.

“Now, are we ready to play?”.

The kids shouted 'Yes’ in unison, so you began the game.

The ball didn't last long in the air and met the water with a sizable splash, "Alright, Norio! One point to your team".

You picked up the ball from your side of the ring and handed it back to the scoring team.

_Tap Tap Tap _

The ball flew from hand to hand on each side of the net. It lasted far longer in the air than the first time, but eventually it hit your side of the water again.

"You're really getting the hang of this, Norio. Another point to you guys", you praised as you tossed the ball to the other side of the net.

The ball was up once more, but was quickly taken down by Dameon when he jumped up out of the water and double hammered the ball right into Norio's face.

A loud slam echoed on the beach as Norio was thrown off his feet and into the water.

“Dameon! You can't hit someone with the ball, especially not in the face!”, you shouted as you ran towards Norio.

But Dameon didn't have any type of remorse, instead he seemed irritated at you for scolding him.

He huffed in annoyance and turned away from you.

You tried your best to comfort the victim, who already had tears pricking his eyes.

“Say sorry, Dameon”, you demanded as you hugged Norio close to you.

Dameon stood there, pretending he didn't hear you.

You stood up, with Norio in your arms, and continued to scold him, “Apologize, or we are all going to pack up and go home”.

Dameon angrily stomped in the water and shouted. “No!”.

“Say sorry, Dameon, _ right now _”.

Dameon spins around, angry tears glazing over his eyes."No!".

You silently stood there and stared him down, but he wasn't budging. He glared right back at you with an amount of rage you never thought a child could produce.

So you decided to start collecting your things.

You held Norio close to you as you leaned over to pick up the strayed volleyball. When you begin to pry the net from the sand, Dameon shouted for you to stop.

But you decided to ignore him, and plucked it out completely.

Dameon snached the other end of the net and growled in frustration, "I'm sorry!", he spat.

"Not to me, Dameon, to Norio", you commanded.

Dameon glanced at Norio and mumbled a half-hearted 'sorry '.

You nudged the child in your arms in encouragement, "Now what do we say Norio?".

"I won't forgive you!", Norio screamed as he bolted out of your arms, flying towards Dameon.

The two began to exchange blows, making the foamy water splash around them.

Their power was incredible, stronger than the average patroller. They had never even used this type of strength during spars, so why now? How long have they been hiding this?

But you snapped out of your shocked haze when you heard a loud crack as Norio's fist made impact with Dameon's head.

You caught Norio's fist before he had the chance to land another hit, but in doing so you got in the way of Dameon's kick.

The force behind it made you stumble back and fall into the shallow water. 

You sat up slowly and gingerly held your chin, a bruise was probably forming already. 

Tears began to cloud your vision, but you quickly blinked them away.

Now you could see how utterly terrified the kids looked.

They stood still and rigid as they watched you try to nurse your jaw. Only the gentle splashing of the waves against the sand could be heard.

You hissed in pain as you carefully got back on your feet, "This is why we don't fight amongst ourselves kids", you began to walk towards Dameon and Norio, "You'll almost always end up hurting someone you didn't mean to hurt".

Both boys flinched when you placed a gentle hand on the top of their heads, making you reflexively retract your touch. 

The mere sight of it made your heart break.

"Hey, it's alright", you gently whispered as you kneeled down to the duo's height, "I forgive you, but don't let it happen again".

You carefully pulled the kids in for a hug, which they eagerly returned. 

After holding them for a second you let go and stood up once more, "Now, let me see your head, Dameon. I heard a nasty crack when Norio hit you".

Dameon tilted his head to the side, but no damage was seen.

You sighed in relief, "Good. You guys sure regenerate fast".

"But maybe volleyball wasn't the best game to play". You then balled your fist and hit it against your open palm in determination. No way where you ending this day in a bad note. "Let's try something else!".

You blindly reached around you, but only air met your hands. The stillness of it all made your heart pound in your ears, but in-between each beat you could still hear a uniform shout:

"Polo!"

You sprinted towards the closest voice, but you found nothing but an echo of giggles.

You scrunch your brow in concentration before shouting, "Marco!", once more.

"Polo!"

Again, you desperately began to grasp at the space around you, only to find nothing.

"Marco!" 

"Polo!"

A 'Polo' came from right behind you, but when you whipped around your hands caught only water.

"Marco!"

"Polo"

This time there was one in front and another behind you. You snached at the closest option, the space in front of you, but again caught nothing.

You began to walk around again, trying to hear if anyone was moving about. However, the only sign of movement was the foamy waves against your own legs.

"Marco!"

"Polo!" 

The echo of 'Polo' surrounded you. Front, back, left, right, it was as if they where around you in a circle.

You frantically flailed your arms about, to at least catch one of them, but nothing was there.

Now they where just toying with you…

Carefully, you reached out to them with your ki.

Something was wrong.

Those little rascals weren't even in the water anymore! They where flying close enough to the water as to pretend they where swimming, but you knew better now.

"Marco!"

Time seemed to stop as you concentrated on the children's next movement. Most where preparing to taunt you from afar, but two little brave ones decided to take a risk.

One flew to your right while the other flanked you from behind.

"Polo-",They choked out as you swiftly swirled around and captured the two of them in your embrace.

You cackled maniacally at their stunned faces. 

Dale and Junior, the unlucky duo, desperately squirmed in your grasp, but to no avail.

"I'll feast upon you, my unsuspecting victims!", you roared before smothering them with kisses. 

Unable to break free from your trap, they where left to helplessly giggle at your attack.

With one last peck on their foreheads, you decided they'd have enough.

But not everyone was happy with the defeat, Dameon was quick to point an accusing finger at you.

"You cheated!"

You laid a hand on your chest and gave a scoff of indignity. 

"Me? I could _ never _"

Dameon glared at you as he stubbornly crossed his arms over his chest.

You shook your head disapprovingly, "Don't look at me like that, you guys cheated first. You thought I wouldn't notice?".

"Oh, well", Dameon shifted his eyes around, "That was Junior's idea!".

"Junior?".

Junior gave a sheepish grin as he shrugged his shoulders. 

You shook your head in disapproval again, "Next time we play fair, ok? But now, we're going home. It's getting late".

A wave of opposition erupted from the kids.

"Hey relax, we'll go for ice cream before we go home. How does that sound?".

Their complaints turned to confused murmurs. You managed to catch snippets of "A what?" and "Is it food?".

"Ah, sorry, I should have realized. It's a frozen treat that you lick, it's really good".

Their murmurs now became excited chatter. 

You walked towards your belongings and dug through your bag for a towel. With the towel snuggly wrapped around you and bag on your shoulder, you where ready to go.

Well, almost.

The children helped you gather the volleyball equipment and return it back to the checkout in your apartment’s lobby. And from there, you all headed towards a nearby ice cream parlor.

The youth buzzed around the parlor, inspecting and pointing at the different flavors of ice cream

"What's that?"

"Strawberry"

"And this?"

"Rocky road"

"This one?"

"Expresso"

"And this one?"

"Strawberry"

"What about this one?"

"Again, that's strawberry"

"What's that?"

The clerk did not answer, but gave a stern warning glare at the kids.

"Kids, the man already told you that's strawberry", you laughed nervously, "There's tags for the ice cream, so just read them instead of asking. Okay?".

You internally cursed when the kids stared up at you in confusion, you forgot that they did not know how to read.

"Um, ok. I'll teach you _ that _ later". You pointed at the case containing the frozen sweets. "For now just pick the one flavor you think looks the best".

You gave a small sigh of relief when the kids shushed and began to focus on the different flavors in front of them.

It took a while, but at the end everyone chose their flavor of preference, even yourself. 

The clerk was more than happy to take your zeni and see you on your way.

As you rounded the corner of the street, a familiar figure stumbled upon your group: Cell

"Hey". You waved as you approached him. "Where have you been? ".

"You really didn't notice me around?", he sneered down at you, "You must be lousy at your job".

"Hey, in my defence, there wasn't anything to be alert for. Conton City is pretty safe, you know?".

Cell huffed in annoyance and began to walk back home. 

You strode forward in an attempt to catch up, a slightly difficult task because of the large height difference, but you managed.

You saw him eye the treat in the kid's hands, but he didn't say anything about it.

He's never had ice cream either, huh?

"Here", you offered your ice cream cone to him, "You can have it".

He carefully scanned it, but turned up his nose at your offer at the end.

Without thinking, you lifted the cone up and smeared some ice cream on his mouth.

A look of bewilderment ran through his features for a split second before being smothered by his usual stoic demeanor.

Cell wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and stared at the melted ice cream on it.

"I am so so-", was what managed to tumble out of you before Cell snached the cone from your grasp and shoved it in your mouth.

"That's a much better look for you", he chuckled as you half-choked/gobbled down your ice cream.

As much as you tried, you couldn't salvage all of the treat. Most of it ended up on yourself and on the floor.

You wiped whatever you could off your person with your towel, "_ Thanks _, Cell", you muttered under your breath.

"You're welcome, I would gladly do it again".

But before anyone could continue walking home, Dale stepped in between you and Cell.

"Apologize".

Cell scoffed at his child, "Excuse me?".

Dale stood up taller and stared up at Cell, "Apologize" .

"How about you walk yourself back to where you belong, brat?". Cell's wings snapped in irritation. "Before I take you there myself".

Dale smashed his ice cream into bits in a fit of anger, refusing to back down.

Cell's stone face cracked, forming a furious frown. He lifted his hand up, ready to backhand Dale.

But before Cell could do anything, you snatched up his wrist and held it firmly in place.

"Dale, this isn't your father's fault". You stepped in front of Dale as you spoke. "I started this, and I am terribly sorry, Cell".

You both stared each other down, until Cell finally yanked his wrist back. He muttered an insult under his breath before taking off into the night.

You covered your face with both hands and ruefully mumbled to yourself, "Why do I always have to make things worse?".

A gentle pull from behind and a, "Are you ok?", brought you out of your distress.

You put up the best smile you could in an attempt to cheer up, "Yeah, thank you Dale". You patted him on the head and then faced the other kids. "Let's go home, we need a bath".

The youth immediately lit up and allowed you to guide them back home.

The night didn't end up in a bad note after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long boi!


	4. Nightmares

The gates rattled loudly as they opened, finally allowing some light to seep in.

What awaits you on the other side was a scorching inferno of streaming lava. Sweat clung to your scalp and streamed down to your chin as you began to walk out to the platform.

The sound of your heartbeat left you deaf to the cheering of the crowd. Rows upon rows of citizens surrounded the arena, all eagerly waiting for the games to begin.

The host of the games began to present the players and the tasks to be done in the arena. His voice came out muffled and unintelligible despite the booming speakers amplifying everything he said.

You tried to make out your surroundings, but it was all so blurry.

Except for one thing.

Or someone.

You carefully tread forward and tightened your grip on a key laying in the palm of your hand.

How long have you been holding that?

The faint buzzing of wings brought your attention to a tiny metal cage.

A figure residing inside the iron cage was flying mid air, curled up as much as possible to not touch the hot metallic bars.

It was humanoid, yet nothing like a human.

It seemed to have a blue exoskeleton, wings, and a type of crown on its head. All reminiscent of a bug.

It was familiar…

As you leaned closer to the cage the creature peeked from under its arms to glare at you.

You knew it… it was one of your boys. But which one could it be?

You crouched down to its level, "Hey little one. I need you to not run away alright?", you heard yourself gently whisper.

You couldn't control what you were saying, it was as if someone else was talking through your mouth. 

But your boy didn't seem to care that you even spoke, he just continued to cautiously watch.

You watched as your hands reached towards the padlock on the cage. You had lost control of your body now, but you could still feel everything.

The sting of the hot iron made you hiss in pain as you unlocked the cage. Then you attempted to open the metal door without getting too burned.

You half expected your boy to jump out and attack, but he didn't. Instead he continued to fly in place.

"Alright, I'm going to get you out, ok?", you heard yourself coo as you reached inside. But before you could lay a hand on him, your boy leaped from his standstill and head-butted your face.

He attempted to fly away, but you swiftly caught his leg before he got out of reach.

He clawed at your hand, but you refused to let go.

Instead, you used your superior size and laid on top of the small thing, completely pinning him down.

He made some frantic clicking noise as he struggled under your weight. You waited a minute to let him tire himself out, but it didn't seem as if that would happen.

You heard yourself huff in frustration as you lifted a little weight off of your boy and carefully snake your arms around him. It had been surprisingly easy to successfully lock him in a full nelson hold.

He kicked and twisted himself about, but did not manage to loosen your grip.

Now you could clearly see that Junior was the one in your grasp.

Of course, it had to be Junior, he was the one assigned to you at the tournament.

You could see it all flash before your eyes now.

You saw yourself walking aimlessly through the arena, which was a gigantic three dimensional maze. It went up and down and side to side, like a complicated game of snakes and ladders... but on fire.

A flash of you whistling a tune to keep Junior distracted raced through your sight.

Then, a glimpse of you frantically running away from a gigantic lava monster came into view. You where trying so hard to reach the higher levels of the maze, but you where stopped by another contestant of the tournament.

You could see they had a caged person with them, their assigned burden they had to carry through the maze.

The contestant was a blurry figure hidden beneath a cloak. You fought them and ultimately defeated them, but you where very injured. Half of your back was burned, you hadn't expected for your adversary to breathe fire so they caught you off guard.

You saw yourself freeing the caged person, and you also witnessed how they immediately turned against you.

But you continued to run.

You didn't see how, but eventually you reached higher ground and escaped the lava monster. And in the process, you had saved the caged person again. You could see her clearly now: a woman that looked human if not for her orange skin and red hair.

An image of her startling you with a kiss flashed through your mind. Suddenly, she began to speak in your language.

You then struck a deal with her. She would team up with you if you freed her after the tournament. In exchange, she would communicate and translate for Junior.

Glimpses of fighting beasts and contestants alike blurred together. 

You felt your body aching, and in the corner of your eye you could see your two companions ruffled up and weary.

You where at the very top, finally at the end of the maze.

The cheering of the crowd rang through your ears, muting the excited exclamations of the host.

You won.

And yet...you felt so much pain…

Like something was burning through your abdomen..

You blinked in disbelief as you looked down towards the source of your pain.

A hand was sticking out of your abdomen. Blood splattered on the marble platform as the hand retracted, making you to fall to your knees.

There's no more cheering of the crowd, but laughter.

The most prominent one coming from beside you.

Your head wobbles in an effort to look up.

And there she is, the woman with the orange skin and red hair, her hand is covered in your blood and a malicious grin is on her face.

But...you had helped her...

You promised you'd free her…

Your hand shot up to cradle your abdomen, but nothing was there. No injury at all.

You frantically blinked into the darkness, trying to make out your surroundings.

A vanity, drawers, a closet… this was definitely not a maze..

You rubbed your face, trying your best to relax.

You where in your room..in bed…

It was all a dream, or at least that last part was.

You had entered the tournament because the target of your mission had escaped and resulted in your party being captured and held as beasts for gladiators to fight. 

But when you have won, you didn't get stabbed through the chest. You bought everyone's freedom, your team, Junior and his family, and that woman.

You sighed in annoyance at your own unconscious mind for giving you such a scare. Now you wouldn't be able to go back to sleep.

You rubbed your eyes as you sat up and began to head towards the kitchen.

You sipped your warm cup of coffee as you gingerly rubbed your head.

The bills where beginning to blur together, it didn't matter if one was for electricity or for gas, they where all so damn high!

You hunched over the dining table, trying your best to calculate how many extra missions you'd have to pick up to make up for this.

Maybe financing your household wasn't the best thing you could do at this unholy hour, but you thought it was best to get it out of the way.

And hey, having a little privacy for a possible meltdown was a bonus.

Right?

You gave out a heavy sigh as you finished mentally adding the extra zeni you would need. So far, it seemed you'd have to give up some hours of sleep to repay yourself all of these expenses. You just couldn't completely rely on your savings, then what would you have for retirement?

  
  


_ BAM _

  
  


A pale hand slammed on the table, making you and the bills jump up in fright.

Your sight snapped towards the source of the disruption, and none other than Cell was the cause.

He leaned in closer to you and growled under his breath, "Listen here, and listen well, because I'll only say this once".

"The event that transpired last evening was unacceptable". He roughly grabbed your chin and forced you to make direct eye contact with him. "You think you can turn them against me, huh? That treating them _ 'kindly' _ will win them to your side?".

The pressure of his grip became painful as he leaned in just a little closer, "My offspring should be fending for themselves by now, but here I am _ generously _ providing them with further protection and nurture-"

"What are you talking about?". You forced his hand away from you and sat up a little straighter. "I'm not trying to do anything! I just want them to be happy".

You clenched your shaking hands before speaking up again, "So if you're so worried about losing them, how about you stop being such a shitty father and actually start treating the kids like living sentient beings for once".

"I am", Cell crossed his arms over his chest, "I'm ensuring they are perfect, strong enough to survive when they are by their own".

The chair creaked as you stood up from your seat, "You want them to be strong? Then stop pushing them around. Stop teaching them to be passive and meek".

"You're the only one making them passive and meek"

"Strength comes in more ways than physical, Cell"

His wings snapped as he growled, "Maybe for humans like you, but not for us"

"Well, why not?"

"It's simply not in our nature. I don't know if your little mind can comprehend this, but we just don't let _ anyone _ pass on their genetics. That's why my kind is the embodiment of perfection. I am perfection. Much unlike your puny little species"

"Watch what your saying there-"

"You humans are pathetic, can't even hold a candle to all the other warriors in this hell hole", he chuckled as he continued to mock you, "Clearly, the human lineage must be more than below average for all of you to have turned out to be such a disappo-"

Your hand shot up, clasping over his neck. The force of the unexpected impact sent both of you tumbling on the dining table. Without deter you held him in place and readied your fist for a strike. 

But before you could land it a blue blur caught the corner of your eye, making you freeze in place.

You blinked back to reality, only now realizing what you had done. 

No doubt, the kids had seen you.

Your face blazed up in embarrassment and shame as you slowly removed yourself from Cell. 

You stared at your hands in disbelief, it's as if they had acted on their own.

They cradled your face, now trying to hide from your scrutiny.

But that was fine, you didn't want to see anything right now.

You didn't want to see Cell's stunned face.

You didn't want to see the kids fearfully peeking into the room.

So you let your hands blind you, and for your legs to carry you away from the scene.

You didn't know where you were going, but they kept pushing you far away.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Drama Bombb


	5. Tea, Tears, and Fears

It's been awhile since the incident with Cell, but you where still apprehensive about it. You even ended up crashing at your friend's place to avoid going back home.

Maria and Oscar let you stay without question, but you couldn't leave them in the dark forever.

You needed advice, so you told them everything that had happened.

But now you where stuck in an intervention of sorts. At least the faint smell of freshly baked goods soothed your nerves.

Maria carried a tray with a tea set from the kitchen to the living room and set it on the coffee table.

"The cookies are cooling down right now". She paused in the middle of pouring tea. "So...you said...about Cell…".

She shook her head and continued to pour the tea into a teacup. "Alright, why the hell isn't he paying bills?".

You nervously scratched your cheek as you chuckled, "He has no job, obviously".

Maria set the kettle down and handed you a cup of tea.

"What? I thought he was going to time patrol?".

You sip your tea before answering, "Nah, he's still adjusting to the new surroundings. So no patrolling till then".

Oscar plopped next to you, setting his feet on the coffee table. "Wait, he's seriously just a bum living on your couch?".

You nervously swirled your tea.

"Well…kind of".

Oscar gave you a light punch on the shoulder and pouted.

"And you refuse to take care of me?? Wow, I see how it is".

Maria smacked Oscar's leg, making him remove his feet from the coffee table.

"You can financially support yourself, Oscar".

"I can, but it doesn't mean I want to", he whined as he crossed his arms and let out a huff.

You chuckled into your cup before sighing, "Well, Cell will be able to soon, I hope".

Maria poured her own cup of tea and took a seat on the armchair next to you. "You've been babying him for seven months, I think it's time you push him to start patrolling".

You held your cup closer to you and absentmindedly swirled the tea.

"But what if he fails the psychological test? What if the academy finds out he's a sociopath?". You set your teacup down on the coffee table. "He'll get rejected and probably kicked out of Conton City! I can't make him start just yet, he isn't ready".

Oscar and Maria gave each other a worried glance.

Oscar sank into the couch and propped his arms behind his head. "Then help him study for it? He doesn't have to be a good person, he just has to fake it well".

"Oscar! That's terrible". You shoved him and made him fall on his side. "But...kind of ingenuous".

Maria gave you a slight glare before scoffing, "You're not seriously considering it?".

"It's that, or be bankrupt", you deadpanned.

Maria sighed as she set down her own cup of tea.

"You're being dramatic, you're not going to bankruptcy".

Oscar dusted himself as he stood up from the ground. Without warning, he dramatically slammed his open palm onto the coffee table.

"But just think about it, he will fake being a sane member of society so well, he will actually become one! There's no way it can go wrong"

Maria placed her hands on her hips and stood against Oscar, "Um, there is. What if he's in a mission and kills an innocent person? He's going to need constant vigilance, or it's out"

You waved your hands to bring the attention back to yourself. "Then I'll make him join my team! We've been looking for a new member anyways!".

Oscar slung an arm over your shoulder and gave Maria a thumbs up. "Yeah, and if that doesn't work, he can try mine. See, Maria? Problem solved".

But Maria did not back down, instead her frown deepened.

"Your team? Really?"

"What?", Oscar chuckled.

Maria arched her brow and gave him a look.

Oscar slouched a bit as he scratched the back of his neck."Well...I'm trying to help, ok?".

Maria plopped back into the armrest as she sighed, "Look, this is all a temporary solution, Cell will eventually step out of line".

You got out of Oscar's hold and went to give Maria a hug. It was better to try to appease her than to argue.

"I'm not saying I won't try to teach him how to be a functional person, but for now I really do need a short cut", you explained as you smiled down at her.

But Maria did not return your hug, instead she crossed her arms over herself.

"Seriously? He knows he owes you his life, and he still berated you and humans in general".

"Honestly, if it where me". Oscar let out a flurry of punches to the air. "I would have punched him in that perfect chiseled jaw of his".

You let go of Maria and perched on the arm of the couch as you sighed, "It isn't that easy, Oscar".

She wagged her finger disapprovingly at Oscar. "Exactly, what would that teach the kids?".

"Exactly. Thank you, Maria", you sighed. You definitely did not want to take Oscar's advice there.

Oscar walked towards the kitchen as he sighed, "But your going to have to fight him anyways if you want to go back home".

"No, there has to be another, peaceful, option", Maria scolded.

You shifted nervously and scratched your head in thought, "I don't know...Cell doesn't seem like the forgiving type".

"Well, just saying, you could totally kick his butt", Oscar shouted from the kitchen.

"No". Maria took your abandoned cup of tea and handed it back at you. "Look, just try to talk to him before he tries anything physical".

Oscar walked back into the living room with a plate of cookies on his hand. He shoved one into his mouth and took a seat next to you.

"And you can stay with us as long as you want, until you're ready to confront him", he reassured you in between munches.

You reached out to take a cookie from his plate, but he smacked it away.

"Greedy". You flicked the side of his head, making him yelp in pain. "But I shouldn't stay, it's already been three days. I don't want the kids to think I'm never coming back".

Oscar swallowed down his treat before asking, "You're just gonna go back today, then?".

You took a long sip of your tea, a little lost in thought. Is it a good idea to go back today? Would you be ready?

"I'm not sure".

Maria reached out and patted your knee, "Knowing you, everything will turn out alright".

"You think so?". You drank up the rest of your tea. "I feel like all I do is make things worse".

Maria slapped your thigh, making you almost drop your cup.

"C'mon, that's not true". She leaned back into the armchair. "What would we do if you weren't around?".

"Yeah, who would hype me up for my dates?", Oscar laughed.

Maria took back your empty cup and smiled. "And who would take care of me when I'm sick?".

"Well now you guys are just trying to make me move back in, huh?", you snorted.

Maria dramatically covered his mouth and harshly whispered, "Oh, no! We got caught, Oscar!".

Oscar became comedically rigid.

"Um, um, I'll distract her with cookies", he hissed as he handed you his plate of goods.

"Oh! Cookies!". You gladly took one and munched on it. "What were we talking about?".

The three of you burst into laughter. Man did you miss living with these two, they always found a way to cheer you up.

But now you had the kids to cheer you up, too. If you have them with you, maybe everything will turn out alright.

"Well, I guess I should be going back home later on today".

Maria took hold of your hand and gave it a squeeze. "Our door is always open for you, ok?".

You squeezed back and gave them a grateful smile. "Thanks guys".

Oscar swept you off the couch and into a bear hug. You yelled in protest, but he didn't seem to care that you where running out of air.

"Oscar, let go", Maria scolded as she repeatedly slapped his shoulder.

"Ugh! I just miss having you around!". He set you back down, but was not deterred my Maria at all. "Hey, how about we go watch a movie before you go?"

"Yeah, sounds fun. And sorry, I guess I'm caught up time patrolling and...being a parent?".You blinked in surprise, only now realizing how similar your role was to a parent.

Maria bit her nail before muttering, "Oh, gods, I never thought about it before, but you actually have kids".

You covered your face to hide the faint blush on your cheeks. "Oh, no, I feel so old"

"You have seven kids! Seven!". Oscar pulled at his hair as he plopped on the couch. "Do you know how expensive buying them Christmas and birthday gifts is going to be?".

"Oh, no". You buried your face deeper in your hands. "I have no clue what day is their birthdays".

Oscar snapped up in attention. "Do you think they where born on the same day?"

Maria patted her cheek in thought. "I think so? Why wouldn't they?"

"I don't know, but something about pushing out seven kids in one single day seems impossible". 

You reached out to cover his mouth. "Alright, let's stop right there before it gets weird".

"Yeah, let's go watch that movie", Maria sighed as she walked towards her room to get ready.

"You guys are cowards".Oscar sprang up from the couch and sprinted towards his own room. "But fine, I'm dying to go out together again".

You nervously fiddled with your keys as you approached the apartment door. You stood there, not really ready to go back but not wanting to leave either.

You gave yourself a short pep talk as you finally unlocked the door and slowly pushed it open.

You where hoping you wouldn't run into Cell just yet, but there he was.

He and the kids where on the couch watching TV, but as soon as he caught sight of you Cell fumbled with the control and hastily switch it off.

He stood up and made a b-line to his room without sparing you a glance.

You slumped your shoulders in relief, you hadn't even noticed how tense you'd gotten.

Now it was just you and the kids, but they didn't seem happy to see you.

Their faces scrunched up in distaste when you tried to approach them.

You tried to ask them what was wrong, but by the time you where next to the sofa they started running away from you.

There you stood, all alone in the living room.

You swallowed down the lump in your throat and decided to just hide in your room.

No one wanted to see you right now, and honestly, you understood. You did attack Cell.

It was foolish to think the kids would miss you, how could they after you'd scare them like that?

You laid on you bed, not even bothering to take off your shoes.

Maybe you should have stayed at your old apartment with Maria and Oscar.

Your ears began to pool with hot tears, startling you into a sitting position.

You frantically wiped away what you could, just to find that drops began fall on your lap now.

When did you even start crying?

You tried to calm yourself, but shaky breaths began to shorten and become quiet hiccups.

You laid back in bed and carefully breathed through your mouth as to not make too much noise.

The sound of your alarm clock made you wake up with a start.

It was already five in the morning? 

You dragged yourself off your bed and walked towards the bathroom to freshen up for the day. You felt terrible, but that didn't mean you where allowed to skip training.

Soon you found yourself eating dirt and grass as you skidded through the ground.

Jicama floated above you, hands on her hips, "Hey, what's up? I shouldn't have hit you with that, you know?".

You quietly stumbled back to your feet, refusing to give an answer.

"Yeah, you must miss Yule a whole lot. Too bad he's at a union meeting, huh?". Manus roughly slapped your back, making you fall on your knees.

He frantically apologized as he helped you back up, but Jicama did not let the topic die.

"I don't think it's that, Manus", she landed in front of both of you, "Seriously, you've been distracted this whole time. Something's on your mind?".

You brushed back your hair as you tried to make up an excuse, "I just didn't get enough sleep. You know, with seven kids and all, it's pretty hard to do".

Manus scooped you up like a bride and gently rocked you, "That's not a problem at all. You can just sleep right here in my arms!".

But being held by Manus made everything worse. 

You tried to fight back tears as you desperately tried to wrestle out of his grasp .

Manus was startled by the sudden shift in emotion, but quickly set you back on the ground.

Manus crouched down to you as he frantically apologized, "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't know I was holding you so tight! I'm sorry!".

"No, it wasn't you Manus", Jicama cut in, "Does it have something to do with Cell?"

She sighed as she saw you visibly flinch at the question. 

"Look, you haven't been yourself since you... adopted?.. that huge family", Jicama placed a comforting hand on your shoulder, "And I know Cell is a major part of the reason why. Heck. I've only ever spoke to the guy, like, twice and it was insufferable-"

"Yeah, he's very mean and scary", Manus chipped in as he pulled you into a hug.

"Exactly, so if you need help with anything, you can count on us", Jicama gently ruffled your hair.

You allowed her offer to bounce around your head for a bit before deciding you'd take it. 

"Well… I..got into a disagreement with Cell...and it got physical", you buried your face in Manus' chest in shame, "And now, even the kids are upset with me".

"Have you tried saying sorry?", Manus offered as he patted your back.

"No, they haven't given me the chance. The moment I got back home they all started avoiding me" 

Manus held you closer, "Or you could hug it out?", he mumbled into your hair.

"I don't think that will work, Manus", you sighed. Yet, his optimism cheered you up, enough to even smile a bit.

Jicama playfully punched your shoulder. "And since when do you give up so easily? Talk to Cell, even if he doesn't want to listen, it's not like he can completely mute you out".

"But what if he tries to fight me?", you squeaked as you peek out of under Manus' arm.

"Then kick his a-". Jicama coughed as she turned away from you and Manus. "-uh..then kick his rear".

Manus shook his head in disapproval.

"What? I was ready to throw hands with all of _ you _ the other day". Jicama nonchalantly shrugged her shoulders. "And I love y'all".

Manus gave an annoyed little huff before releasing you from his embrace. 

He set his large hands firmly on your shoulders as he spoke, "I believe in you".

You felt your cheeks flush in embarrassment, "I don't know…", you sighed.

"Are you kidding?". Jicama patted your back in encouragement. "You're our tank! You've taken a sock in the face worse than anything Cell could ever do. You've got this".

Manus enthusiastically nodded in agreement, making a small smile grace over your face.

A small part of you wished you'd get punched in the face instead of having to confront Cell, but you knew that it was an irrational thought.

Your friends where right, you've faced worse adversaries than Cell. Heck, you couldn't even remember the last time you weren't on the brink of death after every big mission. 

If you could survive that, you could do something as simple as make amends, right?

"Yeah..I can do it...". You smiled gratefully at Manus and Jicama, but you quickly let it widen into a more playful smirk. "...As easily as beating both of you up".

Manus jumped back and struck a stance, all the while joyously laughing.

"We'll see about that!", Jicama shouted as she began to take to the sky again.

The rest of the day was a blur after that. 

Training, solo mission, and then grocery shopping. No matter what you did, the only thing that occupied your mind was the thought of going back home.

Soon enough you found yourself in front of your apartment door.

You fiddled with your grocery bags, trying your best to unlock the door without dropping anything.

Finally, the lock gave an opening click.

You carefully pushed the door open and peeked inside.

It was empty.

You opened the door fully and raised your voice a bit as you said, "I brought cupcakes".

But still no sight of anyone.

You stepped in and shuffled towards the kitchen carrying all the grocery bags.

You hadn't checked the fridge yet, but you suspected it was empty by now. You've been gone for three whole day and the kids eat as much as a saiyan.

You set the bags on the table and opened up the fridge. Your hunch was right, it was empty save for some mustard and mayonnaise.

You opened up the cabinets closest to you just to find they where empty, too. 

You felt worse about leaving now.

Several gallons of milk and cartons of eggs where the first things you put into the fridge.

But when you turned back to the bags, they weren't on the table anymore.

"Hmph. This is not enough".

You whipped around just to find Cell holding the groceries.

Cell stared directly into your eyes and smirked as he dropped the bags.

You purse your lips as you watched everything spill on the floor.

The box of cupcakes was now upside-down, you where sure the frosting was ruined now.

A spark of anger made your finger twitch, begging you to take action. But you smothered it with a deep inhale and exhale.

"Nice to see you came to say hi". You picked up one of the less messy-looking bags and began to stock the fridge again. "For a second there, I thought you hated me".

Silence was his response as you continued to fill the cabinets now.

"Look, Cell, I've been meaning to talk to you-"

"Going to apologize?"

"Well...yes". You clenched the bag in your hand. "What I did was-"

"Please, spare me any fictitious speech of yours", Cell sneered.

"Huh? I'm not going to say anything fictitious". You set the bag aside on the counter. "I really do feel ter-"

Cell stepped forward, smashing the box of cupcakes under his weight. All the treats in there splattered on the floor, creating a large mess of frosting

You tighten your jaw, trying your best to not snap at Cell.

He just had to be difficult, didn't he?

"Cell, I don't want to-"

With the corner of your eye, you caught the kids peeking into the kitchen.

The commotion had been louder than you thought if it had caught their attention. 

At least their presence made your irritation dissipate. Yet, you didn't want to talk with Cell in front of them.

You rubbed your temple, already feeling a headache settling in.

"Ugh, look, can we talk outside?".

He glanced at the doorway, now aware of the kids as well. "Is that really necessary?".

"Please?", you almost begged. He was really wearing your nerves down.

He looked over you with a condescending smirk on his face. "What? Afraid of an audience?".

You glanced towards the kids, they didn't even bother hiding anymore, now they where partially stepping in the kitchen.

You arched your brow and returned that same annoying smirk right back at him. "What? Afraid of being all alone with me?".

His smirk fell into a frown.

His eyes bore into yours.

You where a little intimidated, to say the least. It didn't help that he hadn't bothered coming up with a retort.

The best you could do to keep a brave face on was to break eye contact and walk out of the kitchen.

You stopped half-way when you noticed Cell hadn't moved. "You coming?". 

Cell hadn't stopped glaring at you, but he did begin to follow you once you completely exited the kitchen.

You approached the balcony with a heavy heart. 

Just what where you going to say? 

Would anything you do make him change his mind? 

You wish you'd stayed with Maria and Oscar.

You slid the glass door open and stepped out into the night. The cool breeze was a welcoming caress for your jittery nerves. You hoped it will help clear up your mind, too.

Cell stepped out and closed the door behind him.

His wings snapped as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Well?".

Now is your chance.

But you didn't know where to start.

You picked at your arm and avoided his face.

What now?

Cold sweat began to trickle down your neck. 

Your heart began to pound in your ears.

Cell tapped his foot and huffed, "I hope you didn't bring me out here to waste my time".

No. You hadn't brought him here to waste his time, or yours.

"Cell.."

You where going to fix this.

Everything will turn out alright.

"I just want to get along with you, but everytime I try to approach you I always screw it up!". You stopped picking at your arms and instead gathered up the courage to make eye contact with Cell. "I'm sorry. I don't know what is it that you want from me".

His stone face remained cold and calculating, but you could see his crossed arms tightening over his chest.

"You want to get along with me?".

With your nerves worn to the last thread, you couldn't help but let out a frustrated, "Yes!".

And with that, the emotions hidden in his arms finally came to the surface.

His mouth twisted into a nasty snarl, to the point where you could see a vein pop out on his forehead.

"Then stop being so pretentious!". Cell roughly picked you up by the collar of your shirt. "You had it, you'd pinned me down and put me in my place. I can _ respect _ that".

He shook you, making the fabric of your clothes cut a little into your skin. "But here you are, spewing all of this emotional nonsense".

He was practically spitting on you now.

"It doesn't matter what I want". He roughly tugged you closer to his face. "You're the master here! And when I become stronger, I'll usurp that title".

Master?

The fear his outburst gave you almost completely dissipated. Instead, you almost felt heart broken.

"Cell...is that what you think of me? Another master?".

What had you done to make him feel like you owned him?

He definitely never acted as if you did, so where is all this coming from?

Nevertheless, you couldn't let this misunderstanding stand. The idea of being anyone's owner didn't really sit well with you.

"You're not a prisoner, or a slave, Cell". You placed a gentle hand over his. "You're free".

His grip on your shirt disappeared, making you fall into your rear.

You rubbed your sour spot and was about to protest about it, but the sudden sound of laughter cut you off.

"Free? I'm free?", he laughed frantically, almost like a mad man.

You could have never imagined that Cell laughing would be more terrifying than Cell baring his teeth. Yet here you where, riddled with goosebumps.

But you couldn't give up now, not when you just found out about the cause of his hostility towards you.

You had to make things right.

"We are equals, Cell”. You dusted yourself off as you got back up on your feet. “I don't own you”.

Cell began to stifle his laughter and eventually brought it down to an amused chuckle.

He wiped a tear from his eye before sighing, “Oh, but you do".

His smile molded itself back to the neutral thin line he always sported. His eyes, however, where not his usual cold and empty.

They burned just as they had been when he had lost his temper minutes ago.

He took a step closer to you, completely disregarding your personal bubble. 

His armored chest was obstructing your whole view, you couldn't even look up at his face anymore.

What you could see, however, was the visible rumble of his chest as he lowly growled, "I don't remember having an option about coming to this Conton City".

You stepped back a bit, a little caught off guard.

Was he really insinuating that you kidnapped him? Back then you didn't even share a common language with Cell!

You tried to clarify this to him, but Cell cut you off and kept on arguing.

"And when have my offspring and I ever been out of your careful watch?".

You began to pick at your arms again, trying to think of a retort.

But when had you let them be by themselves?

Anytime you where away you always made sure Maria checked on them…

The beach!

You stood a little taller as you corrected Cell, "That's not true, when we went to the beach you left-"

He stepped into your bubble again, forcing you to step back and bump into the balcony rail.

"And I couldn't get far without being pushed back by your city guard".

You blinked in disbelief.

"We don't have-"

But before you could explain anything, Cell cut you short. "Then whoever they where, someone's keeping a close eye on us".

"I definitely did not know-"

Cell interrupted you again, already moving on to another point in his argument.

"You just keep us locked away here. Sure living conditions are a little better, but it's all just a fancier prison".

Cell was beginning to irritate you.

Was it so difficult for him to just listen? And to stay at a respectable distance from you?

You gently pushed him away from your personal space before grumbling, "Alright, are you going to let me explain myself or what?".

"I'm not interested in you trying to justify your actions". Cell crossed his arms over himself as his wings snapped. "Just leave my offspring alone". 

You wanted to explain yourself to Cell so badly, to show him that this was all a misunderstanding. 

But… you couldn't come up with anything..

Everything that he'd said...

"You're right", you sighed.

You owed Cell more than an apology.

"I could have done things differently, but I can't take anything I did back anymore". You gathered the courage to look him in the eye as you spoke. "What I can do is try to change things for the better _ now _".

His face remained neutral, but he began to slowly back away from you.

"You and the kids. You can go out whenever you want, wherever you want. Do whatever you want to do ”.

You stepped closer and closer to him, not realizing you had backed him up into a corner.

"You are _ free _".

His eyes widened a little, but he remained silent.

"You are also my _ equal _, Cell".

You placed a comforting hand on his arm.

"And as my equal, you deserve to be respected". You brushed back some loose strands of hair off your face and focused your sight on your feet. "So I'm sorry, for everything".

"For snapping at you days ago, for making you feel trapped here, for bringing you here against your will", you whispered.

"I can't even send you all back anymore, that time rift is gone....”. You felt your voice cracking a bit, thankfully no tears where forming in your eyes.

“Now you are all stuck here with me". You swallowed the lump on your throat before continuing. "But I'll still try to make it up to you and the kids".

You placed a second hand on his arm and shook him a bit.

"Just give me a chance".

Cell's neutral mask slowly began to crumble.

First it was his eyes, they slanted until only a glimpse of the burning magenta could be seen.

Then it was his lips, which pulled back to reveal a threatening set of teeth.

Lastly, it was his nose, it wrinkled as his snarl began to expand.

He snatched your hands off him and pushed you aside.

"I still can't understand how such a weakling like yourself was able to survive, least of all win, that gladiator tournament". He shoved you to the ground as he growled. "You could have had anything your little heart desired, and you chose a family of slaves? Unbelievable".

And with that, he turned around and stormed into the apartment. The glass door shattered as he slammed it behind him.

You didn't bother getting up anymore. Instead, you sprawled on the balcony floor and huffed in exasperation.

You hadn't expected for Cell to be your best friend after your little speech, but you weren't expecting him to explode either.

Just what were you doing wrong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Of course I can't make Cell forgive the reader so soon lol. He a stubborn bug.


	6. Surprise Visit

You passed a wet plate to Jonathan, who smiled at you as he dried it off and set it aside.

After the confrontation with Cell, you had gathered the last of your energy to make up with the kids.

They accepted your apologies rather quickly, you had a suspicion that it was because they had listened into your conversation with their father, despite your efforts for them not to.

But at this point, you where just glad something went right that night.

You thanked Jonathan for his help and gave him a pat on his head.

Pile by pile you began to put the clean plates away, but a little tug of your shirt diverted your attention from the task.

Jonathan rubbed his arm and avert your eyes before finding the voice to ask, "Can I sit on your lap?".

You couldn't help but giggle a bit at his bashfulness, "Of course, but you have to wait till I'm done putting these away, ok?". 

A small smile spread on your face as Jonathan nodded enthusiastically and patiently waited for you to finish cleaning up. 

However, before you placed the last pile of dishes into the cabinet, a knock echoed through the kitchen

You began to walk towards the living room, this time it was clear that the flurry of knocks was coming from the door.

You took a look through the peephole to find Cell and Trunks standing on the other side.

"Oh, no". You slapped your forehead in irritation. Cell just had to get himself in trouble.

He's been out and about since the confrontation, but it didn't seem as if he'd forgiven you yet.

You just wished he'd behave when he was roaming Conton City. This was the third time someone had escorted him back home.

But why couldn't it have been some random patroller? Why Trunks??!

You reluctantly opened the door and put up the best smile you could muster. "Cell, welcome back. I see you brought Trunks along with you!".

"As if I would willingly invite over such a-"

"Come in, come in". You gently pulled the duo inside and closed the door behind you. "Go on, take a seat".

"Thank you". Trunks made his way towards the couch and sat down. "Sorry, but I have a bit to discuss with you".

Cell was about to walk away, but you took his arm and pulled him towards the couch with you. He rolled his eyes, but let himself be guided and took a seat.

"Well, I hope it's not _ all _ about Cell?", you laughed pathetically. 

"Um, sorry, kind of is", Trunks chuckled nervously as he glanced towards Cell.

Of course it had to be.

"I know you're very busy and it's difficult to take care of him, but he's been caught three times out in the city unsupervised". Trunks glanced at the glass sliding doors and frowned. "What happened to your door?".

Damn, you forgot Cell shattered it! 

You couldn't let Trunks find out, who knows what he'd do if he thought Cell was dangerous.

Well, if he has proof that Cell is dangerous.

"I have seven kids, Trunks, what do you think happened?". You picked at your arms a bit, you hated lying in his face but it was for a good cause.

At least that's what you kept on telling yourself.

"Oh, they must play pretty rough, huh?", he chuckled.

"Nothing I can't take care of-"

As if to contradict you, the sound of shattering glass came from the kitchen.

Jonathan peeked from the doorway, his gaze a little downcast.

"I tried to put the dishes away", he moped as he walked up to you and settled on your lap.

You hugged him close to you, even if you where dying on the inside. Luckily, you had your blush under control.

However, to your dismay, Trunks let out a hearty laugh.

A tinge of pity twisted your heart when Jonathan crossed his arms over his chest and hid his face on your shoulder. 

But a light slap on the chest was enough to let Trunks know he shouldn't be laughing at Jonathan. He coughed in embarrassment and muttered an apology.

You gave Trunks one last slap before petting Jonathan's head. "It's ok, sweetie, we can clean up later ok?".

Jonathan didn't say anything, but he curled up to you.

You cleared your throat a bit to bring the attention back to you. "Um, anyways Trunks, as you where saying?".

"Um, right". He rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, today, we found Cell picking a fight with the giant Shernon".

No wonder Trunks was personally sent! No one was allowed to even fly near Shernon, least of all speak to him!

"I'm so sorry, I'm sure he didn't mean it".

Cell huffed and crossed his arms. "I would have cut that snake into pieces without hesitation".

You nudged Cell and glared at him.

Trunks gave Cell a slight scowl before turning to you. "I won't be giving you a ticket for that, but I can't say I'll refrain from doing so in the future".

He placed a comforting hand on your shoulder. "So please keep an eye on him".

The way he said that..

Why did it sound as if he was scolding you for not caring for your pet?

Is that what he thought of Cell? A fancy dog you just decided to bring back from a time rift?

You clench your fists in anger as you slightly glared at Trunks. "If you have a problem with Cell, you should probably talk to _ him _".

Trunks held up his hands defensively and stuttered out, "Wait, I don't have any problems with anyone! I'm just saying-"

"Then this conversation is quite pointless don't you think?", Cell butt in with a slight huff.

Trunks shifted his gaze between the two of you and frowned. "What is going on here? Why are you turning on me all of a sudden?"

"I'm not, it's just that you've been speaking to me when discussing Cell". You rolled your eyes. "As if I could do anything about it".

"But you're-"

"Not Cell".

Trunks' mouth opened and closed, at a loss with his words. It took him a minute to gather himself again. He cleared his throat, a visible blush on his face.

"Right...I apologize". Trunks shifted in his seat to face Cell better. "Um, Cell, it would be appreciated if you didn't go out into the city alone".

Cell's sour mood, however, did not seem to improve at all.

"Alone? Please, I'm never alone, not with your watchers on my tail all the time".

"Ah, yes". You gave Trunks a slight glare. "I was going to ask about that. Why do you have patrollers stalking me all of a sudden, Trunks?".

Trunks shifted his eyes around the room, seemingly trying to come up with an excuse. However, with a sigh, he gave up.

"I'm sorry, but it wasn't my idea, you know?". He reached out and placed a hand on your shoulder. "The safety of Conton City is at risk, and yours as well, we can't just leave things be".

"Well, I would like for you to call that off". You nudged his hand off you. "It's creepy". You shot him a hard glare for a second. Trunks was not only your boss, but also your friend. For him to have acted against you in secrecy, it really hurt. So you turned away from him before muttering, "And you didn't even tell me. Don't you trust me?"

Trunks almost shot out of his seat. His eyes where wide with disbelief.

"No! I trust you, it's the Supreme Kai of Time that doesn't-". He shook his head. "-I mean.. who is taking extra precautions".

Chronoa doubted you, then? 

Somehow...that was easier to accept than Trunks not trusting you…

You sighed and rolled your eyes, having a soft spot for Trunks was the last thing you wanted. Now you wouldn't be able to stay angry at him, even if he did sort of betray you.

"Fine, fine, but I want you to tell your watchers to loosen up". You gestured towards Cell. "I don't want _ him _ to be tied at my hip all the time you know?". You turned towards Cell and gave him a playful grin. "No offense".

But the joke was lost to Cell, or he decided to completely ignore it. 

Instead, he turned his nose up to you and spat, "Oh, none taken, the feeling is quite mutual".

Cell reached over, making your breath get stuck in your throat. However, he went ahead and took Jonathan off of your lap and held him in his arms.

You mentally sighed, glad his intention wasn't to get physical with you or Trunks. But, this little stunt did leave you a tad confused.

Cell never showed any affection to the boys, or at least not in front of an audience.

Even Jonathan seemed a bit startled, but did not protest about it.

Cell cleared his throat, bringing the focus back to himself. "Anyways, _ Trunks, _ your concerns are heard- yet I could care less about them". He stood up from the couch and scoffed. "Now if you excuse me, I'm done wasting time with you".

Cell quietly made his way to his room, you nor Trunks finding the voice to protest. He left so suddenly, after all.

Trunks blinked, slowly coming out of his slight state of shock. As he regained his senses, a visible frown began to take over his features.

He crossed his arms and turned to you, "Seriously?".

You mimicked his stance and raised a challenging brow. "What?".

"He can't just-". Trunks took a deep breath and rubbed his temples. "This is very important you know?".

You shake your head and tusk disapprovingly.

"Well what did you expect? You can't come in and treat someone like they are a problem to be taken care of ". To end on a more serious note, you firmly poke Trunks chest and gave him a hard stare. "So you better start changing that attitude of yours, Trunks"

"I..you...". Trunks' frown softened as he took your poking hand into his own. "You got this all wrong. I'm not trying to antagonize Cell-"

"Well it seems like you are". You quickly snatched your hand out of his grip. You couldn't let him get you all soft and apologetic now, not when you were close to making your point come across him. "Like it or not, he's going to be a patroller soon, so you're going to have to start seeing him by who he really is".

"What? As highly dangerous contraband from an alternate timeline?". Trunks sighed, letting go of some of his frustration. "You're lucky Chronoa did not immediately kick you out of Conton City".

"Oh? So now you wished you hadn't stood up for me back then? Thanks, Trunks", you laughed bitterly.

"No, I….". Trunks ran a hand down his face and sighed. "Let me rephrase: _ We _ are lucky she didn't kick _ us _ out".

You shook your head and smiled at him. 

"We both know you wouldn't have been affected at all. It's not like the Supreme Kai of time can find a replacement for you"

"That's not tru-"

"Save it, Trunks". You cut him off before this turned into an argument. Honestly, the both of you where getting sidetracked. You sighed and patted Trunks' shoulder. "It doesn't matter. The point is that I want you to start treating Cell like you would with any other patroller".

Trunks huffed and turned away from you, a visible scowl on his face. "And I will when he starts behaving like one".

"He doesn't know how to yet, okay?". You punched the shoulder you where patting seconds ago, making Trunks yelp in surprise. At least he was facing you again. "And he's never going to learn if you don't give him a chance".

Trunks sighed a defeated, "Fine".

He stood up and adjusted his coat, preparing to leave. "I'll see if I can get the watch squad to loosen up".

You gave him a grateful smile and stood up to walk him out.

"Thank you".

"Honestly, if things go wrong, I don't think I'll be able to help you".

"I'll be fine, Trunks".

With one last pat on his shoulder you sent him on his way and closed the door.

You actually did it. You got through Trunks.

You almost fought your boss and things didn't backfire. 

You sighed and leaned against the door for a minute, trying to get your heartbeat to go back to normal.

Now all you had to do was nudge Cell into the right direction. That being: persuading him to behave like the patroller he is to become. 

Well.. if he wanted to be one…. you never really brought it up before...

You rubbed your face as you headed towards the kitchen. Before dealing with Cell, cleaning up whatever mess Jonathan made was of priority. Who knows how long you where going to take to reach an agreement with Cell.

There was a huge mess of shattered glass on the tiled floor. Surprisingly, you swept it up in a breeze. Looks like Jonathan only dropped one pile of plates, and not the whole cabinet.

....Thankfully.

With heavy steps, you began to make your way to Cell's room. Half-way there you almost decided not to go through with it, but if you put it off now, then what would stop you from putting it off again?

So there you stood, in front of Cell's door, trying to gather your thoughts.

With a slightly shaky fist, you slowly rapped on his door. 

The door opened as soon as you retreated your hand...as if he already knew you where there...

"Hey, Cell'. You subconsciously pinched your arm as he stared you down. "Can I have a word with you?".

Cell brought a finger to his chin and hummed, seeming to consider your request. 

"No", he spat at you and swiftly closed the door on your face.

You blinked, taken back by the sudden rejection, but you quickly regained your senses and began to frantically knock on his door.

"Cell, cmon, I was only going to ask if you wanted to patrol or not", you shouted over the rapping of the door.

However, your banging was interrupted by the abrupt opening of the door. Cell stepped out, forcing you to take a few steps back before almost crashing into him.

"Well, why didn't you say that sooner?", he chuckled, "I'd be glad to finally stretch out my wings in the battlefield".

"Alright, hold up there, buddy". You held up your hands in emphasis. "There's a whole process you have to go through before you see said battlefield".

Cell crossed his arms and sighed in exasperation. He didn't protest about it, so you took it as an invitation to continue.

"First you have to attend the Patrolling Academy-". You held up an index finger. "-And for that you have to submit an application and take some tests".

Cell gave a slight nod, encouraging you to go on. 

He really was taking this seriously. It made you feel so relieved, you even relaxed your posture a bit. You had not realized how defensive your stance had become 

You held up a second finger up. "After you graduate, one of the kais will test you with a practice mission. If you fail, you have to go through the academy again".

Cell frowned a bit at that, but did not say anything.

You held up a third finger. "And even after that, you're on probation for a year. If you mess up, it's back to the academy or worse".

You finished with a sigh and crossed your arms. "You're okay with all of that?".

Cell puffed up his chest and let out an undignified huff. " 'Messing up' isn't something I do. I can assure you I will outshine all other applicants".

"Well, Mr.Perfect, to have a chance to-". You held up your fingers and aired quotation marks. "-'outshine all other applicants' you're gonna have to change that attitude of yours".

Cell turned his nose up disapprovingly. "I prefer Mr.Perfect _ Cell _, thank you".

You arched your brows in surprise.

Was he...cracking a joke? 

No…. 

It sounded serious.

You tapped your fingers against your arms. "And there is the attitude I was referring to".

"There is no such thing as attitude, this is who I am"

"Cmon, that's not true". You shot him a little hopeful smile. "I know you can be nice if you try to".

Cell bent down to your face, making you shrink under his furious glare.

"You don't know _ anything _ about me".

You took a step back, trying to discreetly take a calming breath to regain your composure.

"Well...I know you're a terrible parent.. like holy cow, how can you be so-"

Cell huffed angrily through his nose, accompanied by a slightly murderous glare.

You chuckled nervously and rubbed your arms. "-Uh..but... but you're not too bad. I've seen how protective and caring you are to the boys: you watch tv with them, you cook for them, you make sure they take naps". A small smile made its way on your face as you casually shrugged. "And that's just things I've _ caught _ you doing".

But Cell was not swayed by your observations, instead he just rolled his eyes and scoffed. "They are half of _ me _, obviously I will do whatever is in my power to ensure they survive".

You couldn't help but let your smile expand into a teasing grin. "Yeah? Well, their survival doesn't depend on you spending quality time with them, does it?".

Cell blinked, unamused, before turning around to leave. "This conversation is over".

"Wait! C'mon Cell". You reached out and grabbed his arm without thinking. "I know its a lot to ask for, but you're on thin ice with the kais. If you keep on getting in trouble, you won't be able to get into the academy, or you might even get kicked out of the city". You squeezed his arm and tried to search for answers in that neutral mask of his. "Is that what you want for the kids?".

However, you couldn't see anything on his face, not even his eyes held a hint of emotion in them.

But you could definitely hear it, hear it stuck in his throat, hear it straining and threatening to lash out when he firmly commanded you to, "Let. Go."

Your grip on his arm loosened, but before you fully let go you pleaded one last time. "Think about it, Cell".

The only response you got was a loud slam of the door as it closed.

  
  



	7. Writting for Pizza

The children curiously flipped through the piles of books on the dining table, each one of them colorful and filled with drawings. But those where for later, right now they where going to use the ones filled with traceable letters and numbers.

"Alright, darlings, we are going to use these first". You handed out white booklets to each of the kids. "Then, when we are done with these, we can read the other ones, okay?".

Curtis glanced at the booklet, scrunched his face in distaste, and resumed flipping through his picture book.

Norio scowled at the booklet and tossed it to the floor.

Dameon didn't even look up from his picture book.

Johnathan took the booklet and flipped through it, but seeing that it was only letters in there he closed it and set it aside.

Junior opened the booklet and gave it a look, but soon you caught him sneaking a picture book inside the much bigger booklet. He had the audacity to nod and flip through the pages, too.

Dale placed the booklet next to his picture book and flipped through both of them.

Travis grabbed the booklet and set it on his lap, he said something along the lines of using it when he was done with his book.

You bent down to pick up Norio's discarded booklet and sighed as you handed it back to him.

"I know these books look boring, but they will help you learn how to read". You began clearing up the table by staking the scattered picture books aside. "And then you can understand the pretty pictures in the books better, wouldn't that be nice?".

The kids glanced from their colorful books to you, seems they weren't completely convinced.

"If you all do well, we can go out for a treat".

You almost couldn't see with how fast they moved, but they set aside their picture books in a neat little pile.

With no further delay, you began to teach the kids the basics for reading and writing.

In less than an hour they had mastered the alphabet and could count to one-hundred, which had you really impressed and a little nervous.

Was this normal for them? Or should they be learning at a much faster rate? Or at a slower rate? 

Well...as long as they could read at the end of this, it should be fine…

"You boys are amazing!". You flipped the booklet forward to the chapter that covered tracing and writing sentences. "Now flip to page forty-two, since all of you are such fast learners, we are going to start writing".

You instructed them on how to hold a pencil and how to trace over the dashed lines.

They quickly got the hang of writing and soon got to the 'write with no dashes' section.

You didn't know what to expect from the kids anymore.

The inhuman pace in which they learned was impressive, and it even made you a little proud, but you weren't prepared for this…

Their writing…

It was an exact replica of the traceable letters they had gone over five minutes ago…

Cold sweat began to trickle down your neck.

These boys where like seven...and they never held a pencil before in their lives…

How was this possible? 

Before you could go into a full fledged internal panic attack, the click of the opening and closing of the apartment door interrupted your thoughts.

That means….

Cell was back…

You where so overjoyed, you left the kids alone to do their writing and rushed out of the dining room to meet up with Cell.

"Hey, Cell, how are you? Fine? Great!", you blurt out in a jumbled mess as you approached him.

You stopped in front of him and drastically lowered the volume of your voice to a mere whisper. "Ok, so I'm teaching the kids how to read and write... and it's driving me insane!". You rubbed your face in frustration. "Is it normal that they learn everything so freakishly fast and write so terrifyingly perfect?".

A small grin slowly took over Cell's face.

"If it's perfect, then yes. Why wouldn't that be normal?".

You, on the other hand, did not find this comforting at all.

"Um, hello? Little kids aren't supposed to be able to do that?".

Cell's smile quickly fell into a warning scowl. 

He pointed his finger close to your face and lowly growled, "Don't you dare compare my prodigy with other _ lower _ life-forms".

You rolled your eyes at his threat and was about to retaliate, but he swiftly walked past you and towards the dining room.

You hastily followed behind him, you didn't want him to discourage the kids with his bad mood. They where doing so well!

However, his sourness evaporated once he entered the dining room. Instead, Cell seemed… giddy.

He reached down to pat the boy closest to him, "I heard you where all doing perfectly, as expected from _ my _children".

He then proceeded to shower the rest of his sons in little pats and praises.

The kids eagerly accepted his attention and even began to pile up in his arms.

And you just stood there in a dumbfounded state and watched Cell chuckle jovially as he cradled all of his sons in a big group hug.

What brought you out of your stupor was a fleeting smug smile from Cell.

….

...Unbelievable…

Was he just performing this little show out of spite?

"Now, now, that's enough". Cell lightly scolded the kids and lowered them to the floor. "You are not done with your training, yet".

You raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "This isn't training. They are learning how to read and write". 

But Cell didn't acknowledge you, instead he ushered the children to sit and continue writing.

You didn't bother suppressing a annoyed eye roll as you stepped in front of him.

"And you should be studying with them, too". You reached out for a new booklet and handed it to him. "I doubt you know how to read or write".

Cell glared down at you and slapped the book away from him, knocking it out of your hand and on the floor. "For your information, I can read _ perfectly _".

You crossed your arms and chuckled in disbelief, "Reeeeeally?".

"Yeah! Dad reads books for us _ all _ the time". Dameon pointed at the pile of picture books on the table. "Pretty ones, like those".

"Aha, so we can go to sleep. Right, Dad?", Travis cheerfully chipped in.

Cell scowled at the kids, but stopped when he noticed your attention was now on him.

You eyed him curiously as he tried to avoid your gaze.

He crossed his arms over his chest and shuffled a bit. All the while with a frown on his face.

It looked like he was embarrassed…

Wait…

He reads so they go to sleep…

He reads to the kids for their nap time! No wonder he had gotten so hostile back when you had noted Maria wasn't available to put them to sleep.

You knew that Cell had set them up for a nap, but you never would have believed he read to them!

You bite the inside of your cheek, trying your best to stop a goofy grin from taking over your face.

If you gushed about this, you'd probably end up discouraging Cell from reading to the kids. You definitely didn't want to take that away from them. So, in the most composed tone you could manage, you tried to divert the conversation to something else. 

"Wow….Cell, you just started reading all on your own?".

He gave you a cautious glare before slowly nodding in response to your question.

"Really? That's just...outstanding!". Now that you had successfully changed the topic, you allowed a little of your giddiness spill out into a warm smile. "How did you do it?".

Cell still held up his defensive front, so he slowly answered, "I just had to listen to your friend read and after that- well it was quite simple to understand how to do it".

Your smile faltered a bit as you stuttered in disbelief, "Just..just like that??".

No wonder the kids where running through the lessons so fast!

Maybe there was some truth behind Cell gloating about being the perfect being after all…

You took a deep calming breath to recuperate from your mild shock.

If Cell already knew how to read…

You wondered…

"How about writing? Do you know how to do that, too?". 

Now that the conversation had gotten far enough from the 'reading the kids to sleep' fiasco, Cell finally dropped his frown.

"Hmmm..I haven't witnessed first hand what writing is like".

Of course he wouldn't say he couldn't.

But if he only had to see someone write...

"I can fix that", you said as you searched the table for a blank sheet of paper and a pencil.

Once you found said items, you laid the blank sheet on the table where Cell could see. You took your time to write out the whole alphabet, with both capitalized and lowercase letters, so Cell could take a good look at your movements.

After that, you explained to him the purpose of the size differences within the letters as well as the unique sounds of each one.

"See? Easy peasy lemon squeezy", you cheered.

Cell slightly nodded, silently processing everything he had learned.

He stepped closer to the table and leaned over the piece of paper you had written on. He picked up the pencil you had used and twirled it, carefully inspecting it in his hands.

Finally, he pinched it between his thumb and index finger and began to write out the alphabet.

It ended as soon as it had started.

He wrote as if english was his native tongue, but what had you internally screaming was his penmanship.

It was an uncanny replica of your own…

He had copied it exactly, just like the kids had done with the textbook letters…

This must be normal for their species ..right?

Cell flashed you a smug little smirk before leaning down and writing on the paper again.

There was a sentence written out below Cell's replica of the alphabet now:

_ Easy peasy lemon squeezy _

You let out a string of nervous laughter, unsure of what to do or say.

Cell seem to notice your discomfort, which only made his smirk grow into a shit eating grin.

He smugly crossed his arms over himself, "Speechless?", he chuckled.

You wracked your brain to come up with something..anything…

"Uhh...yeah..very impressive…". You pinched your arm a bit to regain some sense into yourself. "But maybe..you should try reading a literary rule book? So you can actually know how to spell and all that?".

You picked up the piece of paper you both had written on and examined it, "Not that you have misspelled anything, but you can't get by with just memorizing words".

Cell reached out and took the sheet of paper from your grasp. He grabbed the opposite ends of the sheet and tore it apart. "Maybe you and your species can't, but I am certainly capable of doing so".

He set the torn pieces on the table, "Now children, be good and continue your training".

Before Cell completely exited the dining room, you spoke up.

"Wait, I'm going to take the kids out for a treat-". You nervously rubbed your hands together. "- would you like to come with?".

Cell didn't answer immediately, instead he took a second to scan your face as if he where looking for something.

The silence made you a bit apprehensive, so to fill it in with something you blurted out, "Uh, and we could go get that time patroller academy application on the way, too".

Cell continued to stare at you, but this time he decided to respond. "Hmmm.. I haven't exactly found the academy, yet".

"Is that a yes?".

Cell tapped his chin in thought, but eventually he gave you a confirming nod.

You tried to not let your joy show too much as to not scare him away. All your attempts to get along with him had been upfront and direct, so maybe if you tried giving him some space things will work out. 

Hopefully.

"Great". You turned to the kids and began to collect all the writing booklets. "You have all done such a good job, I think we should go for that treat now".

The kids cheered and gladly handed you their workbooks. Next thing you knew, they where up and out of the dining room.

You couldn't help but laugh at their excitement as you followed after them.  
  
  


Everyone was staring, or at least that's how you felt. You where not sure since every time you'd turn towards someone, they would be looking somewhere else.

Yet, by how defensive Cell seemed over the kids, certainly your hunch wasn't too far off. 

He wouldn't even let them wander more than five feet away from him.

You reached out towards the two closest to you, Dale and Travis, and held their hands.

Travis did not pay you much mind, he was more interested in taking in the city than anything.

Dale, however, gave you a questioning look.

You smiled down at him, "Is this okay?", you asked.

Dale analyzed the hand you where holding and frowned. Noting this, you swiftly let go of his hand and apologized.

Dale's frown quickly melted away. He flew up towards you and clung to your neck.

"Like this is better", he mumbled into your shoulder.

"Oh", was all you managed to squeak. You felt your heart was going to melt as Dale began to nuzzle against you. It took you a moment, but eventually you hugged him back.

But the tender moment didn't last long, Norio made sure of it.

"Me too!", he whined as he tugged on your shirt.

"Um". You glanced at both your arms. Both of them where already full. "Sorry, sweety, but I only have two hands".

Norio scrunched his face in anger, but before he could throw a temper tantrum Cell scooped him up and placed him on his shoulder.

You gave him a questioning look when he began to gather up the rest of the kids. Dameon, Jonathan, Curtis and Junior weren't happy about the restriction of movement. They buzzed their wings and struggled in their father's grasp.

"Uh, Cell?". You softly elbowed his side to get his attention. "I think they want to walk".

Cell stared straight ahead, completely ignoring you.

You sighed and was about to try to persuade him to let go of the kids, but before you could do that someone bumped into you. You stumbled back a bit, yet managed to regain your composure. Dale complained about being hit, but other than that he was fine.

You laughed nervously and quickly apologized, "I am terribly sorry! I didn't see you there".

The one that had bumped into you, a tall namekian, didn't even bother to stop and look at you. They continued to walk, but didn't get to go too far before Cell phased in front of them.

Cell's arm shot out so fast that it blurred. He roughly clasped his hand over the namekian's neck and yanked them off the ground. The namekian kicked as they struggled to break free from Cell.

You rushed towards Cell, shouting for him to stop.

But he didn't pay you any mind, not even when you let go of Travis to set a hand on his arm. You didn't pull at it, not only because you where still holding Dale, but because you where afraid such aggression would generate a violent response from him.

Instead, you gave him a disappointed frown and firmly spoke to him. "Cell, what did we talk about last time? You're on thin ice, you can't be doing things like this".

He did not spare you a look, but he bared his teeth and let out a low growl.

"You like going out by yourself right? Is this worth that? Because that's what it's going to cost you if Trunks finds out you attacked someone". 

Cell let the namekian struggle for a little longer, as if weighing his options. Ultimately, the freedom to roam by himself seemed to be the better option, so he decided to drop the namekian on the floor.

You hastily let go of Cell and tried your best to help up the namekian. However, as soon as said patroller got a hold of themselves, they pushed you away.

"Don't touch me".

You held Dale close to you as you gave the namekian a slight bow. "Oh. I'm terribly sorry"

"No, you're not". The patroller dusted themselves off as they gave you a hateful glare. "You can get away with _ anything _, after all".

"Huh? What?", you blurted out in surprise.

You don't remember being promoted to a God tier patroller. What could you possibly have gotten away with as a Kai level?

The namekian pointed an accusatory finger at you and then to Dale, "Don't act clueless. Everyone knows about what you did", he growled.

Oh, that's what they meant. 

You didn't know your act of "smuggling illegal creatures" was public knowledge, you where sure that the papers had kept your identity hidden.

"And now you're shamelessly parading around your little exotic pets". They took a step closer to you and made sure to look down on you. "Want to emphasize how wrapped around your finger the kais are, huh?".

Damn.

Did you just reveal your own identity ?

You where beginning to feel that maybe taking Cell and the kids out was a bad idea. Surely public harassment was something to be expected. Despite the many different alien races that inhabit Conton City, an eight-foot bug and septuplets isn't a regular sight.

Now you where uncomfortably aware of the small crowd that had formed around you. 

You glanced towards Cell. He was holding the kids close to himself and was positioned to fight. 

Even the kids could feel the tension in the air. They stood still and allowed Cell to hold them, even if his grip was too tight.

Travis clung onto your leg. 

Dale was glancing around nervously.

You took in a deep breath, trying your best to control your flaring temper. 

You where absolutely pissed that someone would make your boys feel threatened. But then again, you weren't in the position to start a fight.

"I suggest you take your leave".

"Or what?". They leaned down and poked you on the chest. "Going to launch them on me?".

"They are sentient beings, not a litter of cats I decided to-"

Cell snatched up the namekian's hand and held it away from you. You where so shocked you couldn't even finish what you where saying.

You hadn't even notice when he had moved up beside you.

"Doesn't look like it". The patroller yanked their hand back and freed themselves from Cell. "Put those things on a leash".

You felt your hands itching to take action, but you clenched them and blurtered out a retort instead.

"I should put _ you _ on a leash, maybe then you would walk without bumping into anyone".

The namekian frowned at the insult, but did not say anything. They glared down at you, almost daring you to say something else.

As if you didn't have any experience with this type of silent threat. Usually, since it was Cell, you wouldn't act on it. But now?

Namekians where easier to deal with. You where not going to hold back.

"Relax. The leash thing wasn't an invitation to anything else-". You gave them a flirty wink. "- but if you ask nicely, I might change my mind".

Their frown deepened, but a visible purple flush spread over their face. The namekian stuttered something about humans being vulgar and stormed off. 

You couldn't help but chuckle to yourself as you watched them leave. For a big tough slug, they where rather shy.

With the situation being diffused, the crowd began to disperse. 

You leaned down and placed a hand on Travis' shoulder. He was still clinging to your leg.

"You want up?", you whispered.

Travis wordlessly held his arms up, allowing you to snake your arm around him to pick him up.

You gingerly cradled the boys in your arms and muttered encouraging words to them. 

That seemed to help them relax a bit, so you began to check on the others. Or at least that was your intention, but one glance at them let you know they where fine.

They where fussing about getting out of Cell's clutches, after all.

You sighed and shook your head at the sight. There was no way Cell was going to let them go, especially after what happened.

"At least hold them a little more gently". You bounced Dale and Travis in your arms in emphasis. 

Cell mumbled under his breath as he readjusted the children in his arms. Now he had two in each arm and one on his shoulder.

You gave him a thankful nod and began to lead the way once more. This time, you didn't feel as everyone was watching. However, the kids seemed more timid and reclusive. They didn't try to wander off or even ogle at the city anymore. 

All the joy and excitement of being out in the city was gone.

Now you wished you would have fought that prick. 

But responding with violence was so easy, it wouldn't have taken a second thought to begin a fight.

Plus, you avoided a possible lecture from Trunks, or worse.

Although, next time, you'd definitely have to be more cautious about taking the children out in public. Who knew how fast the news of this incident would spread? Especially regarding your identity.

You where not ready for future public harassment, or for any of the kais' possible new rules for you.

You shake your head, trying your best to rid of the dreadful outcomes of today.

The only worthwhile thing that should be occupying your thoughts is getting some pizza. The boys are going to love it.

Eventually, you came to a stop in front of a colorful two-story establishment.

_ Dragon Ball Cheeze _ was the bright sign that proudly sat on top of the building.

It was the most popular, and only, pizza place in Conton City. So the business was always buzzing with activity, and today was no different.

You had forgotten how packed this place could get.

You gulped as your eyes shifted from the pizza parlor to your odd little group. Perhaps no one would notice how much they stick out in such a busy place, right?

You turned towards your group, "Well? Let's go in".

You all made your way into the pizza place.

Surprisingly, it didn't take long to get a table big enough for all nine of you.

The waiter nervously glanced at Cell and the children, but did not comment on it. Instead they tried to take your order as quickly as possible.

That was fine with you, the sooner you guys finished eating the sooner you'd get back home.

Now all you had to do was wait for your order to be served. Sadly, that was easier said than done.

The table had fallen into a thick silence.

The tension from earlier hasn't lightened up at all.

You cleared your throat, doing your best to break the deafness.

"Oh, I forgot to thank you for earlier". You smiled up at Cell. "Never expected for you to jump in to help me".

Cell seemed a bit caught off guard, but quickly gained his composure back.

"Help you?". Cell leaned back and crossed his arms over himself. "Please, I had no such intention. You just happened to have one of my own on your person during the time. Nothing more".

You chuckled, almost a bit too bitterly. "Thanks, way to bring down the mood".

"I should say the same to you".

You arched a questioning brow. All you have been trying to do since you met him is try to lighten up the mood between the both of you. What would make him say that?

"What do you mean?".

Cell rolled his eyes, but chose to dignified you with an answer.

"Earlier, to defuse the situation, you completely shut the crowd down and even made them walk away". Cell’s face scrunched up in a mix of annoyance and confusion. "What you said didn't even make sense".

You quietly stared at him for a second, hoping that he didn't mean what you thought he meant.

But when Cell continued to stare at you in silence, prompting you for an explanation, you began to sweat a little.

So he didn't get the leash reference, huh?

You really didn't want to go into detail about that. But what could be a vague response you could give without having him ask more questions?

You glanced around, wishing for any type of interruption, any type of escape really, from this.

The silence was eating you from the inside.

You sneaked a look at the kids, it didn't seem they where interested in what the adults where talking about. They seemed more curious about the restaurant, and where even sniffing the air now.

Well, it seemed there was no escape from this. You had to answer, unless you wanted the awkward silence to hang until your order was ready.

"Eh... humans are known to be open to romancing other species". You casually shrug your shoulders. "Most namekians aren't really fond of that type of stuff, so I just said something suggestive to make them uncomfortable".

Cell’s frown deepened.

"Romancing?".

Your heart jumped in your chest. That question was not asking for an explanation about romance, right?

You internally groaned when he actually vocalized for you to provide more information.

"Its like...when you..I mean...". You glanced around, keenly aware of how close the other tables where to your own. "I'll explain it to you, um, when we are in private".

Cell sighed in annoyance and dismissively waved his hand.

"If you must".

"Yeah, I must". You rubbed your arms and quickly made your way to another topic of conversation. "Anyways, Orange Star Academy isn't too far from here. We can swing by for the paperwork and then head home".

Cell didn't answer, but you took his silence as an agreement.

The table fell into a more comfortable silence. The boys where now eagerly scanning their surroundings, their little wings fluttering with excitement. Even Cell seemed less weary, but he did still keep a close eye on passersby.

Sooner than you would have expected, the waiter from before arrived with your order.

"Alright, you got the Hungry Saiyan special, each divided into four flavors". The waiter set down the drinks first, giving each one of you a filled cup. Then the food was set down, the two round pizzas covering almost the whole table. "Part Wish, Vegeta, Kame House, and Oolong. Let me know if you need anything else".

You thanked the waiter and watched as they hurried away. It would have been funny if the reality of having this odd family of bugs did not weigh so much on your shoulders.

You pushed that dreadful thought to the back of your mind, right now you wanted to finally enjoy your day out with the boys.

Their eyes seemed to gleam as they looked over the pizzas, some of the kids even began to drool a little. Yet, none would reach out to grab a slice.

Your smile faltered a bit at that, figures that their fright from earlier hasn't completely vanished yet.

You reached out for a slice of Oolong, which was just a meat lovers with extra meat. You blew a bit of air on your slice and paused.

"Careful sweeties, its hot", you warned the kids before finally taking a bite.

The kids took that as an invitation and immediately began to dig into the pizza.

They ate so quickly, you couldn't see how fast their hands where moving, just that the pizzas where steadily disappearing.

But there was someone who was not eating at all.

"Cell, you haven't even touched the pizza, is something wrong?".

Cell glanced down at the pizzas, then to his sons, and back to the pizzas.

He cautiously reach out for a slice and plucked it off the plate, a trail of cheese following behind it.

With a completely neutral face, he sniffed the pizza slice before deciding to eat it.

Two bites and it was all stuffed in his mouth. It almost seemed as if he didn't completely chewed it before finally swallowing it down.

You waited eagerly for a response, but none came. He didn't make a face of disgust or reached out for another slice.

"So?", you slowly asked.

He squinted his eyes, critically analyzing the cheesy dish in front of him.

"It is mostly wheat and dairy". Cell leaned back in his seat. "I rather prefer meat to be a larger portion of a meal".

"Does that mean you don't like it?".

He laid a hand to his chin, "It isn't the worst thing I've eaten".

"Yeah? What is the worst thing you've eaten?".

Cell folded his hands on top of the table and gave you a smug little smirk.

"Wouldn't you like to know?".

You pouted a bit, even if you half-expected an answer like that.

You reached for another slice of pizza, now only the Kame House pineapple pizza and the Vegeta one where left. Seems Cell isn't the only one who prefers meat.

"Well, can't be worse than liver". You almost gaged at the memory of its taste. "No matter what animal its from, its yuckie all the same"

"That sounds like a challenge".

You where in the process of taking a bite of your new slice of pizza, but that comment made you halt in your tracks.

You cleared your throat and managed to stutter out, "Are you...are you saying you want to _ cook _ liver that.. _ I _ would like?"

"Why not? If you find _ this _ dish tasteful-", he nodded towards the pizzas on the table, 

"- then it shouldn't be hard to make liver appealing".

You decided to ignore his implied insult. Instead you began to pry at his sudden interest in cooking for you.

"Do you know what liver is?".

"Meat, I presume".

There it was, he doesn't know what it is. Maybe he was curious and decided to offer to cook it? 

If you explained it to him, maybe you could dissuade him from cooking liver?

"Yeah, but it's like..really...bitter?".

"It sounds as if you're doubting me", he said with a slight edge in his voice.

You smiled nervously and laid your slice of pizza down. "I mean, I bet you can make a really good liver-based dish, it's just that I won't like it".

Cell sat a little straighter, his chest slightly puffed up with pride, "We will see about that", he purred.

You coward a bit at his words, it almost sounds like a threat.

You picked up your slice of pizza and finally began to eat it, a bit dejected by the fact that you would have to eat liver in the near future.

But, hey, at least Cell _ wanted _ to cook for you, right? That was a first.

Once you finished your slice, you reached out for another. However, there was no other slices left. The two gigantic platters where empty.

You where a bit surprised the kids had taken a liking to the pineapple and the vegetable pizzas. If you where being honest, you thought you'd have to finish those by yourself.

Luckily, that wasn't the case.

You stood up and announced to the table it was time to go. 

Before completely exiting the building, you paid for the meal at the front register.

The nine of you walked through the streets of Conton City, heading towards Orange Star Academy.

All the way there, the kids enthusiastically spoke of the pizza place and where ecstatic when you promised to take them back soon.

Not so much as a minor hiccup interrupted the pleasant tread to the academy. You wished that it could be this way forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Its finally here and before midterms, too. :"v  
Next one prob until thanks giving break? Idk sorry dudes. Hope you enjoyed the chap tho.


	8. Fighting and Movies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Minor spoilers for the movie Ringing Bell for those of you who have never watched it  
Also thanks everyone for being so lovely! I have been itching to finish a chapter, and its finally here. :'v  
After this tho, idk when the next update will be but hopefully next month! Stay cool my buglovers!

Orange and lilac streaks tinted the blue sky as the sun set on the horizon.

Usually, you wouldn't have the chance to admire such a view. However, you had more time to spare since Jicama had changed the team's training routine.

Watching the sunset from your couch would have been a welcoming end to the day, but here you where, out in an open field with your face planted firmly against the ground.

Your arms and legs burned as you forced yourself up into a shaky stance.

Cell was too strong.

He flashed a mocking grin your way, "My, my, you still have some fight in you?", he chuckled.

He circled around you, all the while trying to keep his laughter under control. "Well, maybe not fight, specifically. You can barely stand at all".

"You're wrong". You forced yourself into a more solid stance. "If I can still move, I can still fight".

Cell covered his mouth, but he couldn't hold back anymore. He erupted in a fit of laughter, and even held his stomach as he doubled over.

"You're so-". He wiped a tear from his eye."-You're more entertaining than I thought you would be".

He gave a little satisfied sigh and began to steady himself.

"Honestly, I was getting a bit bored knocking you around. But this?". He gestured towards you with his hands. "This is just precious"

You raised an eyebrow, a little offended at the comment. "So what? I've been promoted from punching bag to toy now?"

"No, you're not good enough for that yet", he mocked.

"Gee, thanks Cell", you mumble under your breath. How you wished you could wipe that smile off his face, but if you tried to do that you'd have to push yourself to the brink of exhaustion. And that wasn't an option, you wanted to wake up tomorrow after all.

"Now, don't make that face-". Cell shifted into a fighting stance. "- you have been promoted from punching bag, after all".

Before you could ask what he meant, Cell answered, "To my next meal!".

You reflexively jumped out of the way as an over-sized stinger sped towards you. It crashed into the ground where you once stood.

Startled, you looked up towards Cell to see a long tail swaying behind him. The stinger was pulled out of the rubble and back to his side.

Without a word, Cell tried to impale you with his stinger again and again. And each time you dodged his attacks, you became more sluggish.

"Cell! Knock it off!". You shouted in between breaths. "This isn't funny!".

But it didn't seem as if he where toying with you at all.

There was no shine in his eye, no taunting smirk. That cold neutral face was the only thing staring back at you, making your blood run cold.

His stinger eventually nicked you on the side, making your mind spiral even deeper into a panicked state.

For a second, you felt deeply and truly afraid.

"Cell! This is your last warning!". You tried so hard to sound assertive, but your voice shook as it left your throat.

In retaliation to your verbal threat, Cell swept his tail under you. You managed to dodge it, but as you jumped up he hit you with a ki blast square in the chest.

You crashed into the ground, fragments of stone flying from the impact.

Cell stood above you, his stinger lazily swishing side by side.

His foot came crashing down on your chest, knocking the air out of your lungs.

You squirmed under his weight and clawed at his leg, but escape was futile.

His stinger inched closer and closer to you, making your heart rate skyrocket in panic.

Whether Cell was serious or not, you couldn't find it in yourself to hold back anymore.

You steadily positioned your hands over your chest and focused all of your energy in that spot.

Before Cell could react, a sphere of crackling dark ki began to emerge from your focal point.

The sphere grew dramatically in size, engulfing Cell in less than five seconds.

His cries of pain bounced off of your ears. All you could think of was getting him away from you.

You didn't even shout the attack's name when you released it.

The ki blast flew far enough to avoid having you caught in the blast, and stopped. It spiraled in place, hitting Cell all the while, until it reached such a tremendous speed that the sphere collapsed.

A mess of dark violet lightened up the battlefield as the sphere exploded.

You laid there, heavily panting, barely clinging to consciousness.

You tried to blink wakefulness into your closing eyes, but it became harder and harder to open them up.

The faint crunching of rocks made you flinch.

In the distance, you could spot Cell walking towards you. There wasn't a scratch on him.

It felt like forever for him to reach your side, but at least the wait made you fight harder against unconsciousness.

"I suspected you where holding back". You felt him kick up dust on your face as he stood beside you. "However, hiding an attack like that?".

Cell reached out towards you and gripped your hair with such ferocity you cried out in pain. He dragged you off of the ground and inches away from his face.

"That's unacceptable". He breathed on your face. "You can't defeat perfection, nevertheless, I expect you to give it your all".

And with that, he released you from his clutches, letting you drop on the ground.

"But don't feel too bad, that power definitely promoted you to toy".

You tried getting back up again, but this time you couldn't even prop yourself on your elbows.

The ground was beginning to move around you, almost like the rocking of a boat. No matter how much you blinked, it would not steady again.

Beginning to feel dizzy, you lay your head down and closed your eyes.

You heard Cell say something, but you couldn't really make it out. However, you did feel when he pulled you up by your arm.

Your arm burned as your muscles where forced to stretch out to support your weight. Luckily, you didn't have to wait long to be placed back down. But this time, you weren't on the hard ground, but a soft fluffy surface.

The familiar comfort it gave lulled you slowly into a deep slumber.

The sunlight pierced through the curtains, hitting your eyes.

You groggily reached up to fully cover the window, but a heavy weight stopped your movement.

You buried your face into the pillow in an attempt to shield your eyes from the sun, "Sweeties, one of you close the curtain, please”, you mumbled tiredly.

The weight lifted from above you, “Ooops, did not mean to leave that open”, a deep voice responded as the light of the room vanished.

You jumped in surprise, but couldn't move away since the heavy weight above you returned to snag you in an embrace.

“Relax, its just me”, the deep voice cooed.

Now that you thought about it... that voice was kind of familiar...

"Manus?!". You unsuccessfully tried to push him away, again. "What are you doing??".

"Cuddling you, silly", he mumbled into your hair.

"I meant, here, in my-!". You deflated with a long sigh as a sudden realization hit you. "You broke into my house…".

"I know you told me not to do that, but I got worried". He slightly pulled away from you to make what little eye contact could be managed in a dim room. "You didn't go to train with us today, and then you didn't answer your scouter or the door. I thought you where in trouble or something".

"Wait..I missed training?!". You snatched up the scouter that laid on your nightstand and switched it on. As you peered into it, you frantically read over the date and time. It was 5 pm. Last time you where awake was…

"Oh, noooo", you moaned as you slapped you forehead.

Manus tilted his head in confusion, "What's the matter?".

"I overslept for almost a whole day! That's what!". You slipped out of Manus' grip to sit up. As you rubbed some wakefulness into your face, you caught a faint stench coming from you. "And I reek from yesterday…".

You jumped out of bed and was about to make your way to the door, but your legs buckled under your weight.

You caught your fall with your hands and knees. Nothing was scratched up since the wooden floor was smooth, but your hands where a bit red from the fall.

"Maybe you should sleep for the other half of the day?", Manus teased as he shuffled out of your bed to aid you.

You huffed in indignation, but chose not to sass him since he was helping you up.

Once you where steady on your feet, you began to walk towards the door. However, you stopped in your tracks when Manus took hold of your arm.

"Now wait a second". He gently pulled you closer. "I wanted to ask you something".

"But I'm dirty", you whined.

"It will be fast".

You crossed your arms and motioned him to say what he had to say.

"Miss Bulma already teased some of the events for the winter carnival. She said that there was going to be a petting zoo this year!". Manus clapped his hands excitedly as he bounced in place. "I want to go to the carnival with you, is that okay?"

Bulma already announced winter holidays?

Its barley autumn.

Either she's planning something big, or she's just eager to start. Knowing Bulma, probably both.

"She sure is excited about the holidays", you laughed. But at the same time, you where beginning to feel giddy about winter, too.

"I don't blame her, winter celebrations is always so much fun!", Manus beamed.

"Yeah…". You let your sentence trail off. Manus seemed so ecstatic about going, you didn't know how if you'd be able to lay him down easy. After all, this was going to be the first winter celebrations for the kids. You wanted to show them everything there was to the festivities, and going to the winter carnival was one of the major events in Conton City.

"Anyways, Manus, I actually..um..". You rubbed your arm and let out a sigh. "I wanted to go with Cell and the kids".

You picked at your arms when you saw Manus' smile shrink into a pout.

But just because you couldn't spend the whole day in the carnival with him, didn't mean you couldn't hang out with him at all.

You lightly slapped his arm. "Don't be like that, Manus. We can meet up for the petting zoo, even if it's just for a little while".

His ears perked up at the suggestion, "Are you sure?", he asked.

"Yeah. I'd love to show you our earthling animals anyways".

Without a warning. Manus scooped you up into a bear hug. As he swung you side to side, he chanted: "Thank you So so much! I love you!".

"Love you, too". You giggled as he stopped swinging you and began to nuzzle your cheek. But you couldn't let this last all day, after all you eagerly needed to wash up. "Now get out of here, I have to put myself together"

"Okay!". Manus put you back on the ground and let you out of his embrace. "Oh! Don't forget to call Jicama and Yule. They where worried about you, too".

Your smile faltered at that.

Surely, they'd give you an earful for skipping training.

Jicama was probably going to have you make up for it…

Your muscles ache just thinking about it

"Oh, right", you muttered bitterly.

But your feeling of apprehension was quickly smothered by confusion when Manus gently cupped your face.

He bent down and placed a soft kiss on your forehead, making you blush at the unexpected gesture.

"Don't get all upset about it. I said they where worried, not angry". Manus caressed your cheek with his thumb. "You're so silly sometimes".

You couldn't help but smile and let your worries wash away. Manus carried such a calming presence sometimes.

For all of his support, you felt you owed him more than just the petting zoo hang out. You’d have to think of something to repay him.

Manus slowly let go of your face.

"Go 'put yourself together', okay?". He ruffled up your hair and then made his way towards your window, which you didn't remember leaving open.

"Use the door-!", but he was already flying away before you can finish your sentence.

You sighed and rubbed your face, trying your best to rid of the blush on it.

Once you collected yourself, you slightly leaned on the wall and slowly made your way out of the room. Your body was very sore from the day before, and you felt it ache with every step you took.

Soon enough, you made it to the bathroom. You started up the shower and began to undress, only stopping when you got a good view of all the bruises on your torso.

You winced at the sight.

You'd have to scold Cell later; right now, it was shower time.

You turned the shower knob off and wrapped a towel around you. Carefully, as to not spill any water on the floor, you stepped out of the tub and on the rug.

You toweled your hair dry as you walked out of the bathroom and back to your room.

After you got dressed, you headed towards the kitchen to prepare a quick meal.

You couldn't help but notice how eerily quiet the apartment was. There was no sign of Cell or the kids.

When you searched for their ki, you found that they where in their room. And by how steady it glowed, you figured they where taking a nap.

Except for Cell.

His ki was pulsing, alert and awake.

You wondered what he was doing? There literally wasn't anything in their room, other than a gigantic makeshift nest of blankets and cushions.

...okay, that sounds fun, but it's not like Cell to have a good time in a pillow fortress.

You plopped onto the couch with your plate of food on hand. With your other hand, you reached out for the remote and turned on the tv.

You surfed through the channels, trying to find something that would go well with your meal.

That is, until something you saw in the corner of your eye made you jump, almost dropping your lunch.

Cradling your plate close to you as to not spill its contents, you spun around to face whatever had startled you.

Who stood facing you was none other than the one who was previously occupying your thoughts: Cell.

His nose was almost touching your own.

You could feel him breathe on your face as he spoke. "Hm? You don't look worse for wear".

The closeness of his person made you stutter for an answer. Until, finally, you snapped into your senses and scooted away from him.

In an effort to regain your cool, you reached out for the remote and began to flip through the channels again, "You where worried about me?", you teased.

"Think for a second will you?". Cell rolled his eyes as he leaned on the couch. "If you get seriously injured, the blame would be on me. I'm already set in conquering this pathetic little civilization. I don't need my plans to be spoiled prematurely just because you got a little concussion".

That made you drop the remote, again.

"You're what-? Conquering- the ci- Conton City?!!". You abruptly stood up, plate in hand and all. "I honestly- why would you tell me that?!".

Cell simply shifted to fold his hands under his chin and flashed you a taunting smirk.

"As if you'd stop me, soft hearted idiot".

Even if it seemed he was trying to get a rise out of you, a malicious spark in his eyes let you know he wasn't playing.

"I- this is-this". You set aside your lunch on the coffee table, before you accidentally spill it on the floor. "I can't let you do that, Cell".

Cell didn't seem bothered by your scolding, instead he began to giggle to himself. He only stopped to further jeer at you. "Oh? Then stop me. Do it".

You blinked, caught off guard his direct challenge instead of a snide remark or taunt. "Huh? Right now?".

Cell rolled his eyes, clearly disappointed you didn't respond with aggression. "No, after I've laid this city to waste".

"You're such a…". You deflated with a sigh and carelessly tossed yourself back down on the couch. "You really think you'd be able to pull that off? There's so many powerful fighters living here, they'd-"

"Be very careful with what you're about to say", he growled.

"-They'd wreck your shit Cell!". You reached out for the remote control and began to channel surf once more. Trying your best to keep the shaking of your hand unnoticeable. "There's others, much more powerful than you, who have tried taking over the city. And believe me, they've failed miserably".

"You're a fool if you truly believe I will fail". Cell stood up to his full height, a hand on his chest. "I am a perfectly evolved apex predator, no one will be able to stand up to me".

You spared him a glance, just to make sure he was being serious. With how puffed up with pride he has, it was obvious that he believed every word he had just said. You rolled your eyes and made sure to audibly disagree with him, "That's not how evolution works".

"I just need to bid my time, reach my full potential, and then I will obliterate anyone who tries to oppose my rule".

As Cell laughed to himself, you sighed and shook your head.

Your trembling hands began to hold the remote a bit more steadier as you reached a concluding thought.

"You know what? I'm not going to stress out about this". You nonchalantly continued to flip through the tv. "Let me know when you surpass Goku, then I'll start to worry".

"Goku? Who is that? The city's hero or something?", he mocked.

You where about to explain to him how Goku was a literal mortal god, but you got too distracted by the tv.

Finally, you had found something to watch!

A little white lamb with a chiming bell ran through a meadow, following a yellow butterfly.

You waved a hand at Cell, motioning him to hush. "I'm trying to watch something here, so if you don't mind...".

Cell leaned closer to the t.v, squinting in confusion. "Is that seriously more important to you than the topic at hand?".

"Kind of, it's a pretty good movie".

"Whatever", he spat as he turned around to leave.

But before he could do so, you lunged one of the couch pillows at his head to catch his attention.

Cell slowly turned back, eyes glaring directly at you. Nonetheless, you weren't discouraged at all.

You put up your best smile and clasp your hands together in a pleading manner. "Stay and watch it with me?".

Cell's frown falls flat.

"No".

You clasped your hands again and held them closer to your face. "It just started and everything! Please?"

Cell began to walk away as he gave you a firm, "No", as an answer.

"I'll tell you who Goku is", you sang.

He huffed and crossed his arms as he stopped in his tracks. Without a word, he began to walk towards you. He settled in the far corner of the couch, putting as much distance between the two as it was possible.

In the corner of your eye, you could tell Cell was bored out of his mind.

That his, until the atmosphere of the movie immediately darkened.

Cell sat up straighter when the scene of the wolf breaking into the farm came up. And from there, you could tell he was paying close attention to the movie.

Surprisingly, as the movie progresses, he remained quiet. No snide comments about the little protagonist, or cruel agreements with the wolf’s harsh philosophy, nothing.

Until the end of the film, when the credits had ended, did he begin to speak.

“He got his revenge”. Cell reached for the remote and turned off the t.v. “I don't understand why he is so upset”.

You audibly sighed, of course he wouldn't get the point of the story.

"Vengeance was his teacher, and at the end he got what he desired. But did it really matter after he lost everything he cared for?”.

Cell crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. "Ugh, don't tell me you made me watch this so I learn something?".

"No?". You set aside your, now, empty plate in the coffee table."That is the moral of the story. Not whatever distorted meaning you decided to take out of it".

"I think it's a matter of perspective, really".

You shook your head disapprovingly, "Your perspective is pretty sad".

Cell glared at you, "Your perspective is pathetic", he snapped back.

"Sheesh". You ran a hand through your hair in frustration. Nothing could move him emotionally it seemed. "Honestly, you where never held as a child and it shows".

You abruptly froze, accidentally tugging your hair a bit too roughly. The realization that you had muttered your thoughts out loud slowly dawned on you.

Before you could take back what you said, Cell tilted his head in confusion as he responded. "Why would I need that? I could walk on my own the moment I hatched".

"Hatched?!- How?- Wait..". You shake your head, ridding it of the unrelating questions and focusing solely on the most important one. "So you haven't been held, like ever?".

Cell nonchalantly shrugged,"I don't see what the problem is".

What the hell...

Cell has never been held before, at all!

What the HELL!

Part of you internally screamed while the other part realized that the mere fact explained so many things about him. On top of being a prisoner in a gladiator arena, he had this extra emotional baggage.

You where so distraught that you didn't hesitate to spread out your arms towards Cell. "Do you...want me to?".

Cell gave you a flat look, "You are NOT suggesting what I think you are", a mild warning in his voice.

You flashed him a sheepish smile and shrugged. His rejection allowed for the ridiculousness of your suggestion to settle in.

The embarrassment of the situation kept your mouth running, looking for a justification for such a daring advancement.

"Don't be like that, Cell. Everyone needs some type of affection every now and then. There's no shame in it".

Cell looked you up and down, a disgusted frown appearing over his face.

"No".

Despite his clear distaste of the situation, you couldn't stop from digging yourself deeper into the pit of humiliation you created.

"Aren't you at least a bit curious about how it feels?".

"No", he answered a bit more forcefully than before.

You held your arms against yourself, physically closing the invitation for an embrace. And with that physical closure came a vocal closure, finally ending your suffering.

"Fine, I'll let it go". You began to pick at your arms. "I have to tell you who Goku is, anyways".

Cell let out a frustrated sigh,"Please do so", he grumbled.

You cleared your throat, doing your best to recover your cool.

"He's not the hero of Conton City, that title goes to someone else". You paused, searching for the right explanation of Goku. He was pretty hard to pinpoint since he wasn't like any mortal. However he wasn't a god either. "He's actually a... demigod.. who has saved his universe several times over".

You began to tap your arm, trying to digest the role of Goku in the city. He wasn't completely uninvolved like most instructors."He visits Conton City to... teach and just help out in general, pretty friendly and likable".

Cell broke into a little derogatory smile, "A demigod? This civilization truly believe in deities?", he jeered.

You blinked, a little taken back. "I don't...I don't know how to tell you this...but you have literally met a god before. The one who runs this place, The Supreme Kai of Time, is a goddess".

Cell's eyes widened in disbelief.

"That annoying pink creature?? A god?".

"Yeah, and she's not the only one". You shrugged. "Since Conton City is a neutral ground in between universes, all the gods of destruction, creation, and angels come to hang out here".

"Hmmm...interesting". Cell tapped his chin in thought. "And they all protect the city?".

He couldn't be serious….he was trying to gather intel about the city's defenses?

You where not expecting him to learn from the movie, but jeez he could at least act as if he'd watched it.

You sighed, hoping that the presence of gods in the city would dissuade him from the thought of taking over.

"They aren't strictly the protectors of the city, but if it where in danger they would step up". You gave Cell a bit of a warning glare, "And they are much stronger than Goku", you added firmly.

Cell, fully aware of your intention to discourage him, simply chuckled excitedly. "Very interesting".

He got up from the couch and began to make his exit from the living room. "I have much to think about".

In a last ditch effort, you called after him. "You won't be able to take over the city".

Cell stopped in his tracks and glanced towards you, flashing a smug grin.

"We will see about that".

And then he left, leaving you all alone in the darkening room.

  
  



	9. Day Off

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sup losers, time for some Cell

Today was the day.

You where going to sleep in.

You had called Jicama and Yule, and was given the day off.

After months of chaos caused by the timerifts, stress with adapting to a new household, and financial struggles, you where finally going to have a day to yourself.

No grinding for zeni in individual parallel quests, no training with the team, no nothing.

Not like you could, because you where still sore from training with Cell. That was the first time you two spar without the kids around, and he went and pulled some shit like that?

You weren't so sure about sparing alone with him again…

But right now, it was just you and the bed.

You rolled over on your side and snuggled deeper into the pillow.

But before you could drift off into sleep again, you felt a heavy weight settle on your back.

Judging by the size, you where sure it was one of the kids and not Manus this time.

In your sleepy state, you couldn't find it in yourself to properly speak, so you mumbled incoherently instead.

Whoever was on top of you lifted the hair covering your face, and then poked your cheek.

You cracked an eye open, to find Jonathan was the one impeding you from sleeping some more.

He tilted his head in confusion, "Why are you still here?", he asked.

You blinked, a bit taken back by such a harsh question, "Do you not want me to be here?".

Jonathan shook his head,"I was just wondering, since you're never home". 

"Oh", you felt a stab of guilt in your chest at that comment. Was it really that unusual for you to be present?

You slowly sat up, as to not suddenly throw Jonathan off of you. 

"I have the day off, so I am going to stay home". You pulled him in a hug and smiled down at him. "So we can be together all day, if you want".

Jonathan let out an excited shout and snuggled closer to you, his wings fluttering in the process.

You gently laid back down, with Jonathan still in your arms. "Now, let's sleep for a bit more, okay?", you mumbled tiredly.

Jonathan chittered happily in response.

You began to rub his back, and couldn't help but notice how his wings lifted up every time you passed over them.

Eventually, curiosity got the better of you, and you began to pet under his wings.

They began to flutter as soon as you made contact, and you swore you heard Jonathan sigh in contentment.

You smiled to yourself, glad to share such a peaceful moment with one of your boys.

Sadly, it didn't last as long as you would have liked.

Jonathan snapped back up into a sitting position and stood still. The growling of his stomach resonated through the room.

"Food is ready!", he cheered as he jumped out of bed.

"Food is ready!", he continued to chant as he pulled you out from under the blankets and dragged you across the room.

Before you knew it, he pulled you all the way into the dining room. Only letting you go to take a seat and begin to chow down on breakfast with the rest of his brothers.

You blinked dumbly, trying to process what had just happened.

"Ah, you are here a second day in a row? What a surprise", Cell chuckled to himself, "I really must have knocked you around good, huh?".

You turned towards Cell, who was leaning on the doorway towards the kitchen, and gave him a slight glare.

"We will talk about our spar later". You walked past him and into the kitchen. "At least until I'm fully awake".

You opened the fridge, but you couldn't get a good look into it because Cell quickly slammed it shut.

"Ah, ah, ah". He wagged his finger in front of you,"The only thing you're going to eat is the liver I am going to prepare".

Your face scrunched up in disgust, "That isn't even a breakfast food".

Cell rolled his eyes, "Only humans would limit themselves to having a certain type of food depending on the time of the day", he sighed.

"Of course someone like you wouldn't understand-". You blinked, suddenly hit with a realization. "-hold up...I haven't bought any liver".

Cell flashed you a mischievous grin before opening the freezer and taking out a frozen piece of liver in a plastic bag.

He held it in his hand, and thawed it out with his ki.

He placed it on the counter and then turned to you. "Now be a good little human and wait in the living room. It won't take long".

You crossed your arms as you let out an exasperated huff, "Cell! You can't go around stealing things!".

Completely ignoring your scolding, Cell hooked his hands under your arms and lifted you up like a child. He walked out of the kitchen and into the living room.

"This is kind of humiliating", you mumbled.

"I know", Cell laughed maliciously as he let you drop on the couch.

Thankfully you didn't fall off when you landed, but that didn't make you any less irritated at Cell.

Despite how miffed you where, you decided to stay put on the sofa.

If he wanted to make something for you, fine. You weren't going to discourage that. Actually, this may be the nicest thing he's done for you.

However, you doubted you'd be able to appreciate his cooking. Not when he was making something with liver in it.

The mere thought of having to put that in your mouth made you gag.

You slouched in resignation, no matter what, you'd have to taste the dish he prepared.

Cell wouldn't take no as an answer. And now you where destined to piss him off by throwing up his cooking.

You reached out for the remote and switched on the tv. 

To take off your mind on what was to come, you began to surf through channels.

Most of the content airing consisted of old reruns of earthling shows. Sometimes the broadcast would spice it up with new shows from alternate timelines, but those were hard to find.

Sometimes you wished Conton City would focus more on the arts. So many new ideas could be produced if only non-human patrollers where interested in acting or writing.

But I suppose everyone is too busy trying to climb up in rank to care about fiction or shows, you mused.

Before you could find anything interesting to watch, Cell walked out of the kitchen, plate on one hand.

He placed it on the coffee table, directly in front of you.

The plate was filled with roasted liver and onion on one side, and in the other white rice topped with asparagus.

As expected, he lingered, waiting for you to take your first bite.

You tried your best to not immediately scrunch up your nose in distaste. The smell was so strong, you could feel your eyes watering.

"Again, I'm reminding you, I absolutely despise liver. So don't get hurt if I don't like it, alright?", you warned Cell as you picked up the fork from the plate and stabbed the first piece of liver you saw.

You slowly raised it to your mouth, and once there you struggled to even part your lips.

But you did, you shoved it in your mouth and munched on it as fast as you could. Thinking that, maybe if you ate quickly, you wouldn't be able to taste it.

It was to no avail, however.

As soon as you bite down, the bitter meaty taste burned your tongue.

You tried to force it down, but you could not. 

Instead, you bolted towards the kitchen and spat out the meat in the trashcan.

You ran towards the sink and rinse your mouth, desperately trying to rid of the bitter taste of liver.

"Was that really necessary?", Cell grumbled as he walked into the kitchen with an empty plate in hand.

You wiped your mouth before answering, "Sorry. I really tried to spare your feelings, but I hate liver!" 

Cell rolled his eyes at you. "Whatever, you just proved to be as unrefined as expected".

You defensively crossed your arms over yourself and grumbled, "Then why bother cooking it at all?"

Cell smiled devilishly as he approached you, "Because, you said so yourself, you hate liver", he laughed.

He placed the plate he was holding in the sink, "Although, it is baffling that you refused to eat a perfect meal, prepared by yours truly".

Cell's mischievous smile widens. "However, I won't deny that it was entertaining witnessing you get all fussy over something so trivial".

He turned the faucet of the sink and began to wash the dirty plate.

"Honestly, I hope you are not a reflection of what humanity is like, because if you are… let's just say I would be surprised your species is even taken seriously", he mocked as he finished cleaning the dish and set it aside on the drying rack.

You clench your fists and forced them to stay glued to your side. 

Cell really hit too close to home this time. Of course humans are never taken seriously in this city full of fighters.

The things humans did almost always went by unnoticed because they were not feats of strength or heroism. But really, humanity had such a huge impact on the city.

"You know what, Cell?". You huffed in irritation. "You mock humanity all you want, but that dish you prepared? All human. Everything you've cooked since you got here? All human. Everything that you watch on tv, the language you're speaking? All human". You took in a deep breath, trying your best to not let yourself get caught in an angry rant. "The whole city is built after human architecture and culture. So maybe you should take a closer look at humanity before insulting us".

Despite your solid argument, Cell quickly dismissed it.

He leaned down closer to your height and laughed in your face, "Oh my, did I strike a nerve?".

It took all your strength to stop yourself from breaking his nose right then and there. You where so concentrated on restraining yourself from physically fighting, that you forgot to stop yourself from lashing out verbally.

"Your sorry-ass would still be chained with ki suppressors under a rusty gladiator arena, if it weren't for me, a human", is what left your mouth before you could register you where speaking at all.

But the realization of your insult slapped you in the face when you saw how upset it made Cell.

He was basically murdering you in his mind, or at least that's what you could see through the bubbling hatred in his eyes.

That look definitely blew out the fire of your anger. Now all that was left was the soft burning coals of self-hatred.

You slapped your forehead in frustration, "I'm just going to go now", you sigh as you exit the kitchen.

Surprisingly, Cell doesn't stop you from leaving or says anything, just glares at the back of your head as he watches you go.

You head towards your room, set on sulking for a while and figuring out how to mend the damage you just did.

However, before you can turn the handle of the doorknob, Jonathan stops you in your tracks.

"Aawww don't go back to sleep". He approached you and tugged on your shirt. "You said we could be together all day, and I want to play, not sleep".

You rubbed the back of your head. "Ah, sorry, I just...well..what did you want to play?".

He beamed up at you, and excitingly kept on tugging on your shirt. "Can we go play outside?".

Picking your arms, you struggled to find a way to deny Jonathan his request.

You where tired and sore, and wanted to rest up as much as you could.

Bending down to match his height, you sighed and prepared to be faced with a possible tantrum. "Sweetheart, I'm too tired to go outside, we are going to have to play indoors. Is that okay?".

As soon as you finished delivering the bad news, Jonathan began to pout. His eyes becoming a bit misty.

"That's not fair. You and dad get to go out all the time!", he cried.

"Well it's because I have to work, not because I'm having fun without you guys".You laid a comforting hand on Jonathan. "As for your father….I'm sure he isn't out to have fun either".

"But then we are all alone at home". Jonathan kicked the carpeted floor. "And it's so boring!".

You let out a long sigh through your nose, trying your best to not explode right then and there. Cell was a terrible parent, you knew that, but leaving the kids unsupervised and alone?

Anger making you forget the incident with Cell five minutes ago, you slowly raise to your feet and march towards the kitchen. You are ready to give Cell a piece of your mind.

However, when you get there, the kitchen is empty.

You turn left and right, as if Cell would appear out of nowhere. When that didn't happen, you walked to the dining room. 

Again, nothing was there.

Not even a trace that breakfast had taken place ten minutes ago.

You circled back to the living room, and almost choked on your own spit when you walked in.

How did this happen?! You literally left for thirty seconds!

The couches where scattered, some standing vertically, and others laying upside down.

The kids where running about, and some of them where even sitting awkwardly on the flipped furniture.

Curtis strutted up to you, a proud smile on his face.

"Looks better than before, don't you think?". He gestured towards the chaos behind him. "It was practically all my idea".

Least to say, you did not share the same feelings for this mess as Curtis did.

Yet, you could not find it in yourself to scold him. He did not do this out of ill intent or anything. Plus, you didn't want to discourage whatever creativity it took for him to think this up in the short time you left.

You stood there, wracking your brain for the right words to say.

"Its very…ummm....unique…". You pinched your arms, trying your best to not insult his work. "But it is also..umm...impractical, no?".

Despite your efforts, Curtis's smile dropped into a frown.

He stomped his feet in anger, "It's not! You can still sit and everything!", he yelled.

You placed a hand on his shoulder and kneel in front of him. "Dearie, don't get upset, yet. Consider what I said first". You gestured behind him, where some of the boys shifted uncomfortably on top of the inverted couches. "Is it really unreasonable of me to say it's impractical?".

Curtis turned around. 

Seeing his brothers struggling to stay put in his creation made his anger diffuse. Now he twiddled his fingers, a bit embarrassed of what he'd done.

"I guess you're right", he mumbled.

Before you could say anything, Dale hopped down from the couch and approached the two of you.

"It's okay. Curtis". He patted his brother on the shoulder. "At least now you understand that simplicity and practicality are the true basis of beauty".

What?

You felt like Dale just sucker punched you in the face.

"How...when…". You struggled to even find an appropriate response to that. "Did you...did you... really just say that?".

Curtis gave his brother a curious look as well.

Dale shrugged, not at all bothered by your reactions.

"What? It said so in that book", Dale points towards the very bottom of your bookshelf, where the history section was located. Specifically, he was pointing towards a baroque architecture textbook.

The hairs at the back of your neck began to stand on end. 

Reading the history section was not so bad, you did not have a lot of sensitive subjects there. However, the horror section at the top of the shelf begged to differ.

You took a quick glance towards the top of the bookshelf, as if you could see if someone has recently taken a book out.

"Sweetheart...how many books have you read?".

Dale tapped his chin in thought, "All of them", he happily announced.

You took a deep breath and then slowly breathed out.

"Alright...you don't happen to...um...remember all of them, right?".

Dale nodded enthusiastically, not reading the despair that was written all over your face. "I do, but some I didn't understand".

"Was it the top shelf ones?".

Dale shook his head in disagreement and pointed towards the midsection of the shelf, "I didn't know what was happening in those".

Of course he didn't, those were your abstract literature novels. Going through a sentence in those books was a hassle to you, so it was easy to imagine Dale would not be able to breeze through those either.

"Ah, I see", you mumbled dejectedly. 

You where really hoping he, at the very least, had not understood the horror literature on your shelf. Some of the novels there where vile, too much for you to completely finish.

Luckily, he didn't seem mentally scarred or anything.

At least, on the surface it seemed he wasn't.

"Dale, honey, those books...didn't scare you...did they?".

Dale tilted his head in confusion. "Why would I be scared of a bunch of paper with writing on it?".

There was your answer.

But how was he not afraid? Those horror novels where pretty hard-core. 

Was he apathetic to the atrocities depicted in them?

You shook your head.

Sweet Dale, the very boy who wanted to stand up for you against Cell, he couldn't be apathetic.

You stood up and took another deep breath.

Dale didn't understand the horror novels, that was the only explanation you could come up with.

Only because he knew how to read, it didn't mean he could process all the information in a book. Least of all imagine the scenarios in a novel.

However, you where still set on putting those things away in your room or something. You couldn't have inappropriate books out in the open for the other kids to read.

Not with the heart attack that prospect almost gave you.

So you got up from your kneeling position and stepped towards the bookshelf in the far wall of the living room.

One by one you began to pluck all the horror novels out, as well as other books you deemed dangerous.

You walked into your room with a stack of books in your arms. Carefully, as to not drop them, you set them on your nightstand. You would have to hide them in a box later, right now you had a living room to clean up.

Once you where in the living room, you clapped your hands to get the kid's attention.

"Alright, we are going to make the living room look like it used to, okay?". 

The boys audibly agreed and began to flip the couches back to how they normally where.

You picked up the scattered cushions and placed them back on their respective places.

All the mess the kids made for the sake of finding a creative outlet reminded you of something.

You actually own a Lego set, but never really used it. Now that you have some free time, why not take it out?

After thanking the boys for cleaning up, you proposed your idea to them.

They seemed confused, but didn't argue against it.

Soon, you where all in the middle of the living room with hundreds of tiny Lego parts scattered about.

"There are instructions on how to build vehicles, but you can build whatever you want", you finished explaining the basic concept on how to use the lego blocks to the kids.

"These are instructions?", Travis asked as he flipped through a small manual.

You nodded as a sign of confirmation. "But you don't have to follow them if you don't want to".

Travis set the manual aside, "I want to make the plane, it looks cool".

So he began to search for the parts that he needed. But when Travis began to take too long on the task, the rest of the kids helped him look.

With the aid of his brothers, Travis quickly finished building his plane.

Travis jumped up and down with the plane clasped in his hands. "It's bigger than in the picture!". 

Curtis shook his head and signed, "The pictures in the instructions aren't to size".

"Oh..". Travis stopped celebrating and held the plane close to his chest. "It's still special, anyways".

You gave Travis a tender smile as you pat him on his head. "Because you made it with the help of your brothers?".

Travis blinked in confusion, "No! Because its yellow!", he cheered.

That answer was so unexpected, you couldn't help but burst with laughter. 

Needless to say, you had a great time playing with the kids.

After they built and destroyed everything depicted in the instructions manual, they began to make hybrid vehicles.

A car with tiny tank wheels, a tank with the wings of a plane, and so on.

They only stopped building vehicles when they saw you making a lego sword.

The kids stared in awe for a second before immediately gathering pieces to build one for themselves.

They made quick work of forging their own swords to swing it around the living room. 

The first ones to actually begin a sword fight were Dameon and Norio.

Dameon slashed at Norio with fury. Thankfully, Norio managed to parry all of his attacks. 

However, Norio had no room to take on an offensive stance. He was forced to defend himself until he was backed into a corner.

That is, until you stepped in.

With a swift blow of your blocky sword, you flipped Dameon's weapon out of his hand, forcing him to disengage with Norio.

"What did I say about fighting, huh?", you scolded.

The boys pouted and whined in unison, "We weren't fighting!".

"That looked like fighting".

Dameon went to pick up his fallen sword as he explained, "Well it wasn't. We were playing".

You sigh and shake your head in disapproval. "That was not playing. You have to be gentler, if not one of you could get hurt".

Setting yourself into a fighting stance, you pointed your sword towards the two children.

Usually you didn't allow them to fight in the apartment, but now that Cell wasn't around to say otherwise, you had to teach them how to be friendlier when they spar. 

"Here, I'll show you how it's done", you raised your sword and swung at Dameon. You held back your strength, enough to not break the lego sword or hurt if it struck against his shell.

Dameon's face lit up, excited to take you on. He swung back full force, determined to defeat you.

"Darling, not like that". You lectured as you parried his blows. "Use your skill to fight, not force".

You stepped back and jabbed your sword forward, swiftly disarming him.

Dameon pouted, but did not argue about the loss.

He picked up his sword and positioned himself to fight. He was waiting for you to strike first.

You stepped to the side and slashed at his midsection, but he quickly blocked the hit.

You had him on the defensive, trying to get your sword to land on one of his joints. But Dameon was swift to block or dodge every one of your hits.

You cornered him between the television and the couch. Raising your blocky weapon, you were ready to finish the spar. However, you where stopped when someone struck your leg.

Slowly, you looked down towards the assailant, to find Norio standing there with a smug little grin on his face.

You dramatically cradled your leg and winced in pain, "You've struck me, I may never use this leg again", you lamented.

Norio dropped his sword and rushed to hold you, "But I held back, like you said", he cried.

"No, sweetie, look, I'm fine". You quickly got back up on your feet and frantically waved your hands. "I was just playing, see?".

Norio nodded, a look of relief on his face.

"Since you hit my leg, I just won't use it for the fight, okay?". 

You picked up his fallen sword and hand it back to him.

Only using one leg to balance yourself, you spared with both of the boys.

One would attack you from the front and the other from the back, effectively going through your defenses.

Soon, the rest of the kids joined in the fight.

Slowly, but surely, they chipped you down.

First, someone struck your good leg, so you dropped to your knees.

Next, your wielding arm was hit, so you had to use your other hand.

You fought bravely, but at the end you couldn't even wield your sword anymore

The blocky weapon fell to the floor with a loud 'thunk'.

"Alright, you guys win, I am beaten" 

"Again! Let's play, again!".

"Okay, okay". You got up from your kneeling position and picked up your sword. "But this time-"

Before you could finish your sentence, a loud rumbling echoed through the room.

You visually searched the room for the source of the noise, but found nothing, until it rumbled once more.

The source of the sound came from Junior, who sheepishly smiled up at you.

"I'm hungry", he laughed.

You turned towards the living room clock, to see that it was late in the afternoon.

"Oh, sorry, honey". You began to disarm your sword and place the little Lego pieces back in their box. "Lets clean up, then I'll cook something for all of you, okay?".

The boys quickly put away the whole Lego set, eager for lunch.

Meanwhile, you cook up a storm in the kitchen. 

After the meal is eaten and the dishes are washed, you put up a couple of animated movies for you and the kids to enjoy.

While you cuddle with the kids and lounge around on the couch, in the back of your mind you prepare to confront Cell.

It is until late in the evening when he finally comes back home.

He walks in through the balcony's broken slide door, which you have not fixed yet, and ignores everyone on his way to the kitchen.

But before he goes in, you speak up to stop him, "Cell, can I have a word with you?".

Cell flashes you a smug smirk as he turns towards you, "Ah, finally going to complain about losing our spar the other day?".

You roll your eyes and decide to brush him off, "Yeah, yeah. Just go into the kitchen already".

You gently set the kids off your person to stand up and follow behind Cell.

The tension in the kitchen is high, even if the two of you haven't said a word yet. You take a moment to think over what you want to say, but you can't come up with anything because of the annoying smug look on Cell's face.

So you both stare at each other in silence, at least until you decide to just wing it.

"Alright, since you mentioned the spar, we are going to talk about that first". You crossed your arms and tilt your head in thought. "I get the feeling you've never properly spared with anyone before, so I'm not too upset about what happened".

"But for the record, when you spar with someone, you don't beat them to a pulp". You scold firmly. "If you do that, you're not really getting anything out of the fight".

Cell's smirk widens, but he doesn't let any laughter escape him. "I get the joy of watching someone broken and beaten beneath my feet", he says, as if it's an obvious answer.

You decide to ignore that concerning comment, and instead move on to your argument.

You hold up one finger to emphasize the first point. "First of all, no one is going to want to spar with you because it's detrimental to their own growth as a fighter". You hold up a second finger for your next point. "Second of all, you're doing nothing but make yourself wait longer until the next spar because your partner has to recuperate".

Cell stalked towards you, making sure to end his stride right in front of you so that you where forced to crane your head up to see his face. "So you're saying you're not going to spar with me again?", he growled.

You kept your arms firmly crossed as you glared up at him. "If you don't promise to hold back, yeah".

Cell stared you down for a second, scanning your face for any trace of doubt or fear. But when he found none, he stepped back, leaving some space to breathe between the two of you.

He shrugged his shoulders, as if he didn't just threaten you five seconds ago. "Fine, I'll just have to spar with my own progeny".

You rubbed the bridge of your nose, "Said progeny got the concept of holding back in a spar. Why is this so hard for _ you _ to understand?", you sighed.

Cell rolled his eyes in response."Really? You're going to compare me to children?"

"I might as well since you're behaving like a one", you bite back.

Cell's smug demeanor dropped, a frown taking over his face now. He bent down to your level, his breath hitting you on the face.

"Since I'm so infantile, then go ahead and call me little pet names already. You do that all the time with my children, too, right?".

You stared up at him in silence, weighing your options.

Would you do it? 

For what? To be petty?

Cell stared you down. He is waiting for your reaction.

His glaring eyes are practically daring you to do it. To test him.

You purse your lips, the temptation is too much for you.

You want to do it, to tease him for once.

It's not trying to get even, it's just playing along, you tell yourself.

You flash a little smirk at Cell before finally opening your mouth,"Darling", you spat

"Dear", he rebutted.

You're a little caught off by his swift response, so you stutter a bit when you answer back with a , "Sweetie".

Again, Cell is prepared and counters with a, "Sweetheart".

But this time, you're not caught by surprise. You call him, "Honey", in a heartbeat.

Cell crossed his arms over himself, unimpressed by your pet name. "Pumpkin", he answers back.

You open your mouth, but you have no response. You close it again, and open it once more. "Baby?", was the only thing you could come up with.

You are running out of names.

But Cell sure isn't.

"Cupcake", he quips back at you.

You stutter for another pet name, but can't find any. Instead, you huff in exasperation, "How do you know this many endearing names?".

"I can't unlisten all the things you call my children, even if I wanted to". Cell rolled his eyes. "It's the curse of having a perfect memory".

"That is….". You sigh, already deciding to not pry into that topic. You had to stay on track. "Look, Sweetheart, I am your only sparing partner. So maybe you should reconsider your priorities".

Cell covered his mouth, but his laughter still managed to escape him as he spoke, "Oh, honey, you really think that I need you as a sparing partner?".

"Only if you want to fight with someone experienced". You shrug your shoulders. "If not, you could babysit, that's fine by me, dear. The kids do need more supervision, after all".

You shoot him an accusing glare, "They shouldn't be home alone".

Cell rolled his eyes and sighed, "We already been over this, they should be fending for themselves by now".

"Well, Cell, in a functioning society, you take care of children until they are fully mature". You tap your arms and huff. "Our kids are what? Seven?".

Cell's usual cool demeanor dropped. His face contorted into a snarl."Our?", he growled.

You froze.

You hadn't realized what you had said.

However, you weren't going to deny how you felt towards the kids.

You squared your shoulders and glared back at Cell. "Like it or not, I'm their parent, too".

Cell lowered himself closer to your face,"You are nothing", he whispered to you.

This was beginning to get dangerous.

If you said something wrong, you might end up fighting Cell.

You broke eye contact with Cell and took a step back. 

This was not going to escalate.

It wasn't going to escalate.

"Look, let's not argue about that right now". You spoke slow and calm to defuse the tension. "I want you to learn how to spar properly and for the kids to not be alone for long periods of time, that's it. I'm sure we can work something out".

Thankfully, that was enough to tone down Cell's anger to an annoyed composure.

"You're insufferable". He waved his hand in dismissal. "But, fine, I won't incapacitate you for days on end. After all, you stay on your feet longer and don't wine about being tired, unlike those brats of mine".

"Don't call them that", you warned.

"As for your second request, I don't believe that will be possible". Cell crossed his arms over himself. "I am attending the patroller academy. It keeps me occupied most of the day, you see"

You dumbly blinked up at him, until the sudden realization of what he said hit you.

"Oh, no, I forgot-"

"Obviously". Cell cut you off with a wave of his hand. "If you're going to nag about something, at least let it be justified, darling".

You purse your lips into an annoyed pout and dejectedly muttered an apology.

"Good, because I am already top of the class and may even graduate by the end of the year". Cell turned his nose up at you. "I don't need a lowly human tarnishing my name for no reason".

"What?? How??". Your arms uncrossed and fell to your sides. "You just started attending??".

Cell's rolled his eyes at you, "There's no reason to act so surprised", he mumbled angrily.

But it was loud enough for you to hear, so you went ahead and answered back. "How can I not be surprised? It takes at least a year to graduate from the academy, how are you set to graduate in four months?".

Cell's smirk returned with a vengeance as he explained, "I demanded to be placed in a more advanced stage in the program".

"And they just said yes?", you said, dumbfounded.

"After I passed some annoying tests". He shook his head."As if I have to prove myself".

"Cell that's....". You couldn't fight the smile that was growing on your face. "I don't think anyone has done that before!".

"Again, no reason to act surprised", he said. But this time, in a gentler, much less annoyed, tone.

You shook your head, trying to refocus on the topic you two had abandoned.

"Well, Mr. Perfect Cell, it's great that you're king of the patrolling academy, but the kids still need someone to watch over them", you scolded lightly.

Cell tilted his head, "Actually, I thought up a solution for that right now", he mused out loud.

Cell stepped back.

In a blink of an eye, a duplicate of himself emerged from his body and took the space beside him.

"There, now I can watch over them, just like you wanted", his clone said.

The duplication technique? How did he learn that?

Why hadn't you thought of using that before?

Oh, wait, it halves your power level. That would not be good for missions, either team or solo ones.

Before your thoughts spiral any deeper into logistics, Cell speaks up once more.

"However, all of my compliance to your requests does not come without a price, dear".

You ran your hand down your face and sighed, "A thank you isn't enough?".

"No, darling". Cell reached out and booped your nose. "I want you to tell me where to find Goku".

The duplicate Cell nodded, "You said he was an instructor, right?", he asked.

You pushed Cell's hand away from your face as you spoke, "You can't be trained by an instructor until you graduate and reach a certain rank".

The original Cell took back his hand and crossed his arms. "You know well I'm not searching for someone to train me".

You glare up at both Cells, "Ah, you're planning on stalking him? I don't think that's a good idea, sweetheart", you warn.

"I don't remember asking for your opinion, honey", both of them answer in unison.

You throw up your hands in defeat.v"Fine, just stay out of trouble. I don't need Trunks knocking at my door, again", you sighed.

Clone Cell stepped behind his original and merged back with him.

"Good". Cell nodded. "Now, if you excuse me, I actually need to get dinner ready".

You shake your head, frustrated that Cell was still trying to take over the city.

Not like you thought he could, but if anyone found out about his scheme….

But you don't voice any of your concern to Cell, instead you complied. You walked back to the living room and relaxed with the kids.

Or as relaxed as you could get.

Half of your attention was on the movie the kids where watching, and the other half continued to dwell on Cell.

Even if you thought him capable or not, it was not okay for you to keep quiet about his plans of conquering Conton City. 

So why did you?


	10. Capsule Corp Carnival

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is...a 10k chapter....I wish it wouldn't have been so long but I had so many ideas. :"v enjoy babes. Bless the corona fic!!

You spread out all the clothes on your bed.

Sweaters, leg warmers, turtle necks, long sleeves, pants, ankle skirts, scarfs, all child size and of varying colors.

It had taken you some days to shop for all the different items on your bed, but by the look of amazement on the kids faces, it was all worth it.

"Go on". You gestured towards the bed. "Choose whatever you like the best, then I will teach you how to put it on".

The kids curiously poked and pried the clothing, as if it would jump up alive any second.

The sight was hilarious, but you couldn't wait all day for them, you guys had a winter carnival to go to!

You approached Junior, who was the first one to bravely hold up a sweater. "You put your arms through the holes here, sweetie", you instructed as you guided his arms into the sweater.

Junior flapped his arms around, testing the feeling of the sweater on him.

You pat his head and asked, "You like it?".

Junior cranked his head behind him to see his back. Then he turned forward and pulled on the helm of his sweater.

"Yeah", he chirped when he let go of the helm.

You nodded your head, "It looks good on you! Navy and white brings out your blue exoskeleton very well", you complimented.

You reached out for a black long sleeve and handed it to Junior. "But the sweater can't be all alone, you need a shirt and some pants, or skirt".

Junior took the shirt and had a good look at it, until he decided to take off his sweater and try it on.

He waved his arms around with the long sleeve on.

When he was done feeling it out, he took the discarded sweater and pulled it over himself.

You gave him a thumbs up. "You're almost done, just need something to cover your legs".

Junior scanned the bed and took the first pair of sweats he saw. He looked up at you for reassurance, and once you gave him an encouraging smile, he began to put on said item.

He stretch his legs wide and took a couple of big steps. Since the pants did not hinder his movements, he tried jogging in place. 

After successfully trying out his clothes, he turned to you, a big excited grin on his face. "Now I'm all covered, like you", he sang.

"Yes". You grabbed a violet scarf and wrapped it loosely around his neck. "You will be all warm when we go out to the snow".

Junior enthusiastically jumped up and down in place, "I can't wait to see it!", he shouted.

You couldn't help but giggle at his antics. 

"Me neither, so we should get dressed faster, huh?", you announced to the whole room.

The rest of the kids nodded energetically and began to search through the clothes more confidently.

You where a bit apprehensive about taking out the family to such a large public event, especially after what happened last time they where out in the city.

If the word of your identity didn't spread out then, man would they know who was the time rift smuggler now. Everyone in the city attended that event, even the gods and angels from other universes. Heck, even the Xenos attended.

The thought of the Omni Kings being so close unnerved you even more, the idea of having a time rift organism in Conton City may displeasure them.

On the other hand, they where VIP guests, so the chances of stumbling upon them was close to zero. 

And if it did happen, you wouldn't even be able to make eye contact with them. Not with their bodyguards around. Or at least that's what you kept telling yourself.

It would be cruel to not let the kids attend the best event of the year, so no matter what you felt or what the public thought, they where going.

If anything happened, Trunks was going to be there, too. You would just have to raise your ki and he, or some event guards, would come to help. 

Right? 

Right??

Before you began to doubt yourself further, a voice interrupted your train of thought.

"You are really doing this, aren't you?".

You turned around to see Cell leaning on your doorway, arms crossed and a disgusted frown on his face.

You rolled your eyes at him. "Are you coming with us or not, dear?".

Cell tapped his chin in thought. "You did say everyone in the city attends this event. Does that include all the gods, too?".

"Cell, please don't tell me you're going to the carnival to gather intel". You ran a hand down your face in exasperation. "It's just a fun little event we do for the community, nothing important. So just try to enjoy it, will you?".

"Darling, don't be ridiculous". Cell waved his hand dismissively. "For what other reason would I go, if not for intel?".

"Look... at least act normally and wear these". You pick up a paper bag next to your bed, full of clothes specifically for Cell. You hold it up, waiting for him to grab it. "You can do that, right, sweetie?".

Cell glared down at you, "Why would I do something like that?", he spat.

You arch your brow, a bit confused by his refusal. "Your species is accustomed to tropical climates, no?".

Cell gave you a suspicious glare,"What of it?", he asks, a warning in his tone.

You pinch the bridge of your nose, frustrated by Cell's inability to understand that the clothes where necessary.

"It's going to be snowing in Capsule Corp, temperatures at, or below, 0 Celsius". You shook the paper bag close to his face. "These clothes will keep you warm and cozy".

Cell turned his nose up in disgust, "I'd rather freeze", he spat.

You shrugged and flashed him a grin, "It's fine, you wouldn't have been able to look good in them anyways, honey ", you laughed.

Cell blinked dully at you before answering, "Really? That's not going to work on me, sweetheart".

You drop your smug demeanor with a sigh and an eyeroll. Disappointed that your scheme didn't work, you throw up your free hand in the air. "Then I'm sorry, you can't go", you grumble.

Cell doesn't seem bothered by the fact, he actually seems kind of thrilled. "Hmph, we will see about that, pumpkin", he chuckles.

You give him a glare, trying your best to get through him that the ordeal is not a game.

"Seriously, you can't go". You firmly scold. "I have all the tickets, and sneaking in is out of the option. You can't even raise your ki above a 5 at the carnival, or they will kick you out". You try to hand him the paper bag again, this time pressing it slightly to his chest. "Let's be honest, a big bug like you will need super speed to get past security. But that's above a ki of 5, isn't it, dear?".

Cell raises a brow.

He glances between you and the bag, apparently weighing his options.

At the end, he lets out an annoyed chitter and snatches the bag out of your grasp, refusing to meet your eye.

He walks into the room and sits at the corner of your bed. You watch him dig into the bag, but stop when he turns to glare at you.

You did not want to discourage Cell from joining the party, so you began to focus your attention on the children.

You scan the room, searching for anyone that needs your help.

Johnathan was snuggling into the furry hood of his parka.

Travis was twirling his long yellow skirt.

Dameon finished zipping up his violet windbreaker.

Curtis was trying on some jeans, which, by the look of his face, didn’t seem too fond of.

Dale was stuffing scarves into his green bomber jacket. 

You where about to stop him, but angry chittering took your attention to the other side of the room.

Norio was struggling to get his head through a red hoodie.

You quickly went to his aid, afraid he would just rip through the item.

“Stay still, honey”, you cooed as you dug through the opening of the garment. Eventually, you successfully got his head through without tearing the fabric.

Norio was red in the face, matching the color of the hoodie.

“It's okay, baby”. You reached out to hold him. "Just take a deep breath, alright?".

Norio didn't protest against the hug, but he did give an angry huff instead of a slow breath.

"Stupid clothes", he muttered.

"If you don't like what you're wearing right now, maybe we can find something else?".

"No". He gently pushed you away, no longer wanting to be embraced. "I don't want to put clothes on a second time".

You smiled apologetically at him as you explained, "You still have to wear something on your legs".

Norio let out a string of chitters as his wings snapped in irritation.

"Hey, it's fine, I'll help you find something good okay?", you reassured him as you stood up to your full height.

"Fine", he huffed.

You scanned the bed for something that Norio could easily slip on. 

And there it was, on the head of your bed, a long gray skirt.

Taking it in your grasp, you proudly presented it to Norio.

"This will do the trick, you just have to step into it", you said and you opened the top of the skirt and placed it in front of Norio.

Norio glared at the skirt, nevertheless he stepped into the opening you had made. You lifted the skirt and secured it on him with a speedy 'zipp'.

"They're, comfy no? And it's layered, which will keep you nice and warm".

Norio seemed a bit less irritated, but did not share the same giddy smile you had on.

"Let's just go already", he grumbled as he crossed his arms over himself.

"We will once everyone is ready".

Norio tilts his head and gives you a questioning look, "We are ready".

"No? Curtis is still trying stuff on". 

You look around for Curtis, just to double check. You find that he gave up on jeans and settled on an oversized pink coat with some leg warmers underneath.

"Oh, would you look at that. Well, your father is still getting ready".

Norio pointed behind you.

You turn around to find Cell, fully clothed.

He wore a gray turtleneck with a brown leather bomber jacket over it, as well as some black jeans to top off the look.

You flashed him a giddy smile and had to restrain yourself from bouncing up and down.

"See? It's not so bad". You clasped your hands in excitement. "You look handsome! _ Perfect _, even", you laughed as you playfully wiggled your eyebrows at him.

By the way he puffed out his chest, it was easy to conclude that Cell was pleased with your enthusiasm.

He adjusted his jacket as he spoke, "I know that already, but thank you, love".

"Uh..yeah...no problem". 

You nervously rubbed your arms.

Really? Love?

That made your heart twist uncomfortably.

Both of you had been throwing pet names at each other for some time, but it was always in a condescending way.

For him to use that word against you… it felt wrong.

You shook your head, trying to focus on the task at hand.

"Anyways! We should get going, don't want to miss out on anything at the carnival".

You gathered the things you'd need- wallet, water, keys, scouter, and gloves for the kids in case they wanted to play in the snow- and stuffed it inside a small bag.

Now that you where all ready, the nine of you made your way out of the apartment. 

The walk to a transfer shop robot was lively with chatter from the kids, but their voices where muted out by your thoughts.

You never called anyone love, not the kids, not Cell.

So where did Cell get that name to begin with?

"Hello? Is anyone there?". Curtis yelled as he snapped his fingers. "I don't want to stand here all day!".

You blink in surprise, but quickly recuperate your senses.

"Ah! Sorry, dear, I was just caught up on thinking...uh..what was the first thing we should do when we get there". You rub your arms before deciding to reach out to the teleporter and just get to Capsule Corp already. "Um, maybe close your eyes for this? The light could make you dizzy".

And with that, you push down on the bot, a swirling light engulfs the nine of you.

In an instant, you are all teleported in front of a large domed building.

The rush of cold air stung your eyes. 

It was gently snowing over the premises, and at least two inches of the stuff covered the ground.

From how excited they were about the snow, you were expecting all of the kids to go wild at the sight of it. But instead, they all had mixed reactions.

Norio, Travis, and Johnathan stared at the snow in wonder.

Dameon and Curtis scowled, probably because the cold hurt their faces.

Junior and Dale, being a little bolder than the rest, bent down to gather some in their hands. However, they immediately dropped it when they felt the freezing ice.

You tried to contain your laughter, but it came out as a snort. To cover it up, you coughed a bit. You didn't want to make the kids feel like you where laughing at them, but damn, their reactions were too funny. All the bravado they had was gone as soon as they felt the cold.

You wanted to hear someone complain about wearing clothes now.

You glanced at Cell, to see how he was holding up. But he showed no emotion, not even a scrunch of displeasure.

It was a little disappointing he was hiding behind his usual stoic demeanor, but that was fine. He'll slip sooner or later.

For now, you lead the group towards the domed building.

The preparations for the carnival where amazing.

Christmas lights shined gently through the snowy evening.

There where food stands, game booths, and prize stations all around. It was just enough to attend the hundreds of patrollers buzzing about. 

And that was only the outside.

You entered the lobby of the building.

The working bot greeted all of you as you entered. It took a second to accept your tickets and provide you all with wrist bands. After that, you led the group through the large double doors.

The first door that greeted you was the entrance to the botanical garden/animal sanctuary. On top of said door sat a sign with the word _ Petting Zoo _ on it.

You walked past it, reminding yourself to call Manus to meet there later.

Soon you all entered a large dining area, littered with the best restaurants in Conton City. A familiar shop logo caught your eye as you passed by, a round pizza with star shaped pepperoni on it. It was the signature sign of Dragon Ball Cheeze, no wonder so many people where cluttered in the area.

The thought of eating before going on the mechanical rides crossed your mind, but you quickly discarded it. That would increase the chances of someone getting dizzy and throwing up, especially since your little family ate until they couldn't anymore.

So you decided to lead the group away from the dining area, even if you had to tug a few hands to make them leave.

A few paces down the dining area was a noisy karaoke bar, it sounds like they are already wasted in there. 

You hurried past it, not wanting anyone to grow curious enough to wander in there. Especially not the kids, no one underage could be in the bar anyways.

You all keep on walking towards the end of the building and make a stop in front of a large double door.

You turn to the group to lay out the plan for the night, "We will come back here later, okay? I wanted us to go on the rides first, and then we can rest and eat here. How does that sound?".

The boys nodded enthusiastically, on the other hand, Cell did not react whatsoever.

Actually, he hasn't said anything since you got here.

Not like you where expecting him to be a chatterbox, but you where at least ready for him to spew out some negative criticism about the carnival.

At least he didn't seem angry or anything. Maybe he was just caught up thinking about everything that was going on?

You sighed and made a mental note to keep an eye on him.

With that, you open the doors and step out into the chilly night.

You let the kids choose which ride to go on first. After scanning the area for a brief second, all of them agreed to go on to the ferris wheel.

The wheel was alight with green and red lights, and it easily bypassed the Capsule Corp building in size. It was no surprise as to why it had caught the kids attention.

All of you headed towards the attraction and waited in line. 

You glanced towards Cell, weary of his behavior around large crowds.

He stood behind the kids and kept watch over the surroundings. If anyone even looked their way, he'd shoot them a nasty glare.

In an effort to help Cell relax a bit, you make your way in front of the kids. You and Cell now have them all flanked, thus successfully shielding them from any possible danger.

Not that there was any at a carnival, you mused.

But then again, you thought Conton City wasn't dangerous and your family ended up being harassed on their first outing.

You mentally sighed and wiped those negative thoughts from your head. 

Something like that wouldn't happen here.

The carnival gives the citizens of Conton City a chance to forget about missions and time rifts. Everyone is in an exceptional mood right now.

Dale, who was the child closest to you, interrupted your running thoughts by tugging on to your jacket sleeve. 

He pointed towards the ferris wheel, "It's so glowy!", he cheered.

You flash Dale a warm smile, but before you can even agree with him Curtis butts in the conversation.

"It moves so slow", he complains.

Johnathan waves a hand as he shouts, "Do we just go sit in those little boxes?".

"Yeah. It takes us all the way to the top. We should be able to see everything from there". You move your index finger in a circle, giving them a visual of what the ride was going to be like.

Curtis gives out a loud annoyed sigh, "That's it? Sounds boring".

"You guys chose this ride". You shook your head as you let out an amused laugh. "Just wait until you get on to say anything negative about it".

Curtis crossed his arms and pouted. 

After that, the kid's chatter settled down since the group was now approaching the front of the line.

Soon enough, you where all being paired off and where boarding the ferris wheel.

The metallic passenger cart swayed back and forth as it climbed higher and higher.

Curtis, who had been paired off with you, reached out for the cart's handlebars in an effort to steady himself.

The wheel came to a stop once it had been loaded with passengers, leaving you both at the very top.

Snow gently drifted to the carnival below. The illumination of the bright christmas lights gave it the illusion of a soft white glow.

Once it joined the ice on the ground, patrollers would scoop it up and pack it tight in their hands.

Snow was molded into a small ball and hurled at a friend, or it was slapped on to the surface of a growing snowman, or it was prodded and admired by curious eyes.

So many patrollers would never experience snow if it weren't for this carnival, you thought.

Bulma is doing god's work, as always.

You reached out for a snowflake, but before it could land on your hand Curtis abruptly stood up, making you flinch and miss the flake.

He began to unzip his coat, "I'm out of here", he spat.

"Curtis!". You grab his hands, stopping him from undressing. "What are you doing? You're going to freeze!".

He turned away from you, eyes forcefully shut closed."I want to get off", he mumbled into his scarf.

"Honey, the ride may be boring but that doesn't mean it's fine to spread your wings and fly away", you scolded as you gently guided him back to sitting down in the cabin.

Curtis shook his head and buried his face deeper into his coat.

Before you could respond to his behavior, the ferris wheel jolted back, marking the beginning of its descent.

Curtis' arms shoot out, gripping the handles of the cart. His breaths are rapid and short, almost to the point of hyperventilating.

You scoot up closer to Curtis and wrap an arm around him, finally understanding the cause of his outburst.

"Curtis, I know it's scary being so high up and not being in control of flight-", you fully enclose him in your arms, "-but I promise we will be fine".

Curtis relaxes his grip on the bar, but refuses to open his eyes anymore. Instead, he buries his face in your shoulder.

The ride slowly rotates the cart towards the ground, all the while you comfort Curtis with words of encouragement.

When you two finally reach the ground, Curtis is still a bit shaky so you hold his hand as the two of you wait for the rest to disembark the ferris wheel.

The rest of the kids had hated the ferris wheel, too. Of course, for a different reason than Curtis. In their words, "It was boring! We can already fly up in the sky!"

Thus, they left it up to you to choose the "funnest" ride in the carnival.

Lucky for you, you did know which was the most thrilling ride in the place: bumper cars.

The kids stood on the tip of their toes as they tried to peek into the bumper car rink.

Johnathan awed as he saw two cars run into each other. He pointed at the scene and turned to you, "We're going to hit each other like that?!", he asked.

"Yeah, that's what the ride is about". You turn to the kids and explain to them how to use the cars. From where the petals are located to how to steer the wheel. "Also, you have to drive with a partner, so start thinking about who you want to drive with".

This results in the children chatting enthusiastically with each other.

Throughout the whole time waiting in line, the kids try to decide how they are going to partner up. At the end, the resulting teams where:

Norio and Junior 

Johnathan and Dale

Curtis and Travis

And…

Hold on…

You stepped back and counted all of the kids.

Oh, no. 

They are an uneven number.

You counted them again, but this time on the order that they paired up.

That left Dameon without a partner.

You felt your gut twist with guilt, you couldn't leave him all alone.

But if you partnered with Dameon, that would leave Cell all by himself. 

Needless to say, that was not a good idea.

Maybe the cars where big enough for the three of you, you thought.

You reached out to him and rubbed his head affectionately. "Dameon, do you want to team up with me and your Dad?", you asked.

Dameon flashed you a smug little smile. "No, I can defeat all of you by myself", he laughed.

You blinked, incredulous at how much he mirrored Cell right now.

"I don't think they will let you have your own car, you know? There's a lot of people waiting to get on, too".

Despite your efforts, Dameon waved it off.

"Then I'll just have some schmuck sit next to me while I drive".

"That doesn't sound very fun".

Dameon crossed his arms and stood a little taller. "It will be fun when I win".

You shook your head, a laugh threatening to escape. It was like seeing Cell, but in an appropriate size for such a childish and unreasonable sense of arrogance.

"Alright sweetie, but just so you know this isn't a competitive game". You kneel down to his eye level, a more serious tone etching in your voice. "There aren't any winners, you're just supposed to bump into other cars"

"And I will bump into the most cars".

You break into a small giggle, he is even as stubborn as Cell. But should you even be surprised? Cell was their only role model for the longest.

You place a quick peck on Dameon's forehead. "I know you will, darling", you whisper.

You get back up to your full height and turn to Cell.

"Well, that means it's just you and me, Cell"

But Cell doesn't say anything, just looks away from you and scans the crowd.

"Glad to see you're excited", you mumble.

The ring of a bell chimes through the rink, indicating that the session was over. People start exiting and soon the nine of you are allowed to enter the rink.

Everyone scattered to find a bumper car, except for Cell.

He stood in the middle of the rink, watching everyone disperse.

You waved him over to you, surprisingly, he complied.

He awkwardly adjusted himself in the small car, trying his best to set his wings to the side without having them stick out of the vehicle.

"Do you want to drive, or?", you ask as you gesture towards the car wheel.

However, Cell ignores you, instead he keeps a watchful eye on the kids.

You follow his gaze to find that the children where fumbling with the car as they waited for the ride to start.

"Cell". You place a hand on his arm. "They will be okay".

Only then does he turn to you, a slight glare in his eye, "Don't touch me", he growls.

You let go of him and place your hand on the wheel instead.

At least you got him to talk, you thought.

The ring of a bell marked the beginning of the ride. Bumper cars began to speed by, already ready for action. 

The kids closest to you- Norio, Junior, Curtis, and Travis- immediately begin to hit your car. You shoot them a playful smirk as you begin to maneuver your way out of their assault.

Soon enough, you steer well enough to position yourself behind Norio and Junior.

You crash your car into them, but your momentum is not enough to cause enough of an impact.

However, it is enough for that duo to retreat, leaving only Curtis and Travis behind.

Curtis and Travis notice that they where left all alone with you, so they try to tail it out of there, but you give them a chase.

It's surprising how well Travis can swerve through the traffic, he even successfully gains some distance from you.

In response, you take the long way around the crowd and meet the kids half way.

Curtis shakes Travis, "Go back! Go back!", he cries.

Travis panicked and fiddled with the joystick, at the end he was able to change the gear. The car jolted before it began to back up.

The kids could have gotten away successfully, if it weren't for the fact that they cornered themselves against a wall.

You drove into them with enough force to shake your own car.

"Ha! You thought you could escape me?", you boasted.

"Okay, you got us", Travis laughed.

Curtis playfully rolled his eyes, "You got lucky", he teased.

You changed your gear and backed up, allowing the kids to leave.

You searched for the others, and ended up spotting Norio and Junior at the other side of the rink.

As you made your way to them, random patrollers would run into you. It was only fair that you would hit them back.

But Cell didn't seem too enthusiastic about that, he would stare down whoever dared get too close and shout, "Get lost", or, "Beat it", to whoever had the guts to bump into the car.

"What's the matter, honey?". You glanced at him as you drove. "Afraid of a harmless ride?".

"Fear is for the weak", he simply answers.

You crank up an eyebrow in questioning.

"Then why the face, huh?"

Cell doesn't bother with an answer, instead he glares at a patroller who happened to bump into the car by accident.

You purse your lips, stopping yourself from scolding him. Instead, you try to give him some type of positive reinforcement.

"Cell, I promise-". Dameon bumps into your car, cutting you short. The impact of the crash makes the whole car shake, including you and Cell.

You're surprised to see that Dameon is not the driver, but a boy in a beanie. You hardly get a chance to get a glimpse of him since his face is covered by his hair. Also, because Dameon commanded him to quickly move on to another target.

Before you have time to recover from the crash, a loud bell rings through the rink signifying the end of the session.

You sigh, a bit resigned you couldn't enjoy the ride as much as you wanted, or get back at Norio and Junior.

At least the kids where chatting happily about how much fun it was. Dameon especially, since he was bragging about how many cars he managed to hit in such a short time.

You wondered if Cell had absolutely hated the ride, or maybe just found it mildly annoying?

You glanced his way, only to find he was staring right at you.

Going against your instincts, you stared back and arched your brow in a questioning manner.

"You didn't finish what you where about to say", Cell answered in the most monotone voice you heard him use so far.

That tone threw off, so a dumb, "Huh?", is what escaped your mouth in response.

Cell stared down at you a bit more intensely instead of repeating himself.

"Right". It took you a second, but you caught on that he was referring to the discussion in the bumper car, before Dameon interrupted you. "I just…".

You felt a bit embarrassed about being put in the spotlight all of a sudden. But you felt like this was something Cell had to hear anyways.

So you slow down your pace, allowing the kids to walk a bit farther ahead of you and Cell. You don't know where the children are leading you guys, but you're assuming it's the next ride they want to go on.

You cross your arms and pinch them a bit, not being able to meet Cell's eyes.

"I promise I won't let anything bad happen, okay? Not like last time", you manage to say in a hushed voice. It almost sounds like a whisper, but Cell was able to hear you. It was easy to tell by the way his confused face broke into a mocking grin.

He covers his mouth as he laughs, "Don't tell me you're worried about me? That's adorable".

You feel your face begin to heat up, so you try to bury it in your scarf. "How can't I be? You've been all standoffish since we got here! ", you mumble defensively

Cell places a second hand over his mouth as he keeps on laughing at your expense.

You shoot him a glare and begin to pick up your pace. Clearly the conversation was over.

But before you can leave, Cell grabs your arm and pulls you to his side.

You dumbly blink up at him and almost jump when he leans in close to your ear.

"I was contemplating how many citizens I could slaughter before anyone tried to stop me", he whispers into your ear.

Cell flashes you a malicious smirk before walking away to catch up with the kids, leaving you behind.

You stand there, frozen like the snow beneath your feet.

But you are quickly warmed up by the fire of outrage.

You thought he was anxious about the crowd, but he was just fantasizing about murdering everyone?!

How could he...after you where worried about him…

And he just thought it was so funny!

Without thinking, you march past the kids and up to Cell, ready to….to do something! 

You roughly grip his arm, his still smiling face makes you want to break his jaw. 

His eyes even daring you to take action.

But before you do anything, you feel a tug on your shirt.

You jump a bit from the unexpected touch, for a moment forgetting where you were.

Johnathan is looking up at you and pointing at a plush polar bear at a stand.

"I want that...thing! Is it okay if I take it?", he asks.

"Oh.. a.. uh...". You run a hand down your face, trying your best to put out your hot temper. This was not the time or place, you kept on telling yourself. It took you a good minute to answer Johnathan's question. "You have to win it in a game, not just take it, sweetheart".

"Here, let's go play", you sigh as you take Johnathan's hand and lead the group to the polar bear stand.

Even from a distance away, since he was flanking the back of the group, you could still hear Cell laughing.

It was making your face redden with fury.

You finally get to the stand and can't help but to think:

A Polar bear challenge? Seriously?

Oh, what the hell. Maybe it will help me cool down.

You walk up to the worker of the booth, coin purse in hand. "Alright, how much is it per game?"

The worker leans on the booth and simply replies, "That would be five zeni".

You hand her thirty five zeni because you where sure all the kids would want a plush too.

You stare down at the ice cold water in a large pool and sigh. Maybe diving in there seven times was not a good idea.

You take off your bag, jacket, and your scarf, and hand them to Johnathan.

Before you could begin to climb the pool ladder, the worker stops you.

"Yeah, honestly you don't have to go in the seven times you paid. Just go in once, after the first time I know you'll be able to do the rest".

You let out the breath you where holding and give her a grateful, "Thank you miss".

Ever so slowly, you walk up the little ladder of the pool.

You take a deep breath and force yourself to dive into the freezing water.

The warmth from your body immediately washes away. And with it, your anger as well.

Now you couldn't even think, the only thing you could do was feel how the icy water seeped through your skin and froze your bones.

You break to the surface, a curse escaping as an exhale of breath.

You quickly make your way to the end of the round pool and climb out the ladder. Huffing and puffing from the cold.

You step on to the snowy ground, unable to feel anything but numb.

The worker of the booth promptly directed you to a drying pod, where you where blow dried with hot air.

Soon you began to dry up, and your body regained feeling.

You stepped out of the drying pod, still a little damp, and where greeted by the kids. Each holding a polar bear plush in their arms.

Johnathan approached you and handed over your jacket and scarf. To your relief, the items still have your lingering warmth.

Johnathan glanced from his plush to you. "Why did the lady give us these things after you had gone swimming?", Johnathan asked.

"The water was super cold". You finished zipping up your jacket and then took back your bag from Johnathan. "That was the challenge of the game".

"Oh!". Johnathan nodded in understanding. "That must have been hard".

"Yeah". You laughed. Honestly, you kind of needed that. Now you where calm and collected. 

You shivered when a cold breeze flew by. 

And also a bit cold, you complained to yourself.

"I think we should go back into the dome for some food, I'm cold and hungry", you suggested.

The kids seemed to agree on the hungry portion of your argument, so the nine of you head towards the Capsule Corp building.

You scan the restaurants of the dining area. All of them look so good, you're not sure what to buy.

You glance towards Dragon Ball Cheeze, tempted to go in. But you wanted the family to taste something new. Plus, it was packed in there.

Maybe a restaurant that gives big portions of meat will do, you muse.

You snap your fingers, remembering that the best prepared meat in Conton City was made in Tacos Gokun.

You eagerly searched for their signature logo, the shadow of Goku with a white mustache on it.

And there it was, at the very heart of the dining area, Tacos Gokun. 

The group happily followed as you guide them towards the restaurant.

Once you ask for a table of nine, the host makes you all wait for twenty minutes before seating you. You have the kids save their plushes in your bag for safe keeping.

And soon enough, the feast begins.

You end up ordering a saiyan taco combo for everyone, except yourself. No way you could eat fifteen tacos with a bowl of red rice and beans on the side.

The family seem quite happy with the choice of food, you thought as you watched them gobble it all down in five minutes.

You on the other hand, where on your third taco.

You paused to take a sip of your drink, at least until Cell interrupted you.

He grabbed your cup and set it down on the table, "Be a doll and order another serving of whatever that was", he commanded.

You shook his hand off of your cup and lifted it back to your face. "Hmph! Starve", you spat before you took a sip.

"Very well then", he says as he reaches towards your plate and snatches up a taco. He devours it in a matter of seconds.

You almost choke on the drink and have to force it down.

"Hey! That was my last taco!", you cough out.

Cell leans back on his seat and proceeds to clean his hands with a napkin.

"I guess you're going to have to order more, right, darling?".

"No". You glance towards the kids, noting how some of them had their heads down on the table, falling asleep by how satisfied they where with the meal. "I actually had enough to not go hungry, unlike someone who can't get full with fifteen tacos". You wipe your face, which had traces of the drink you almost spat up. "Maybe if you ask me nicely and-I don't know- apologize for earlier? I may change my mind"

"Awww did I hurt your feelings, sweetie?", he laughed as he crumpled up his napkin and set it on the table, "Honestly, by now, I would expect you to know when I'm being serious or not".

"That's not something to joke about, Cell".

He rolled his eyes at you, "Nevermind. I rather go without if it means this conversation will end sooner", he huffed.

"Good".

You lean heavily on your seat as you sigh, a bit miffed at Cell.

In order to stay calm, you dig into your bag for your scouter and call Manus. You make the call brief, only telling him you're ready to meet at the petting zoo. 

As soon as you hang up you signal a waiter for the check and promptly pay it. Gathering up the kids, and nudging some awake, you head out towards the petting zoo.

The double doors slid open, allowing the group to walk in.

So many animals where roaming the garden, from cats to dinosaurs. All shapes and sizes unique to each species made the garden seem even more lively.

It was nice and warm inside, making you zip down your jacket and loosen your scarf in response.

You lead the group towards the shade of a large tree on top of a hill. The whole garden was visible from there. 

The kids settled down on the grass, gawking at their surroundings. Meanwhile, Cell stood beside the tree as if he was keeping watch.

"It's sunny in here!", Travis cheered as he pointed at the artificial sky.

Curtis squinted as he looked up at the simulation of a sun."Yeah, weird", he mumbled.

"Everything here is artificial, fake, so the animals can be nice and comfortable", you explain.

"I like it", Travis chirped as he removed his sweater.

"Yeah it's pretty relaxing in here", you say as you lean on the tree.

Johnathan points at an approaching brown cow and shouts, "Look at that! What is it?".

You wave at the approaching animal as you speak. "It's a cow, I think it wants to hang out with us".

The cow slowly approached the group and decided to plop down in the middle. It stretched out its neck and laid its head on top of the closest lap, which was Norio's.

Norio lifts up his arms away from the bovine to avoid touching it. "Who are you?", he huffed irritatingly.

"It can't talk back, darling", you laughed.

Norio glanced at you, then back to the cow on his lap. "Well I don't like what it's doing", he complained.

You stand up and go help Norio. 

You sit next to him and gently guide the cow's head to your lap instead. The cow doesn't feel bothered at all. As long as it had a lap to lay on, it didn't care.

Norio stood up and immediately created some distance between himself and the strange friendly cow.

Before you could offer Norio some words of encouragement to befriend said bovine, a deep voice echoed through the garden.

"Awww! Already starting without us?".

You look up to see Manus approaching, with Jicama following behind him.

You happily wave at them, encouraging them to approach the group.

However, Cell was not as enthusiastic about their presence. He glared at them and even took a step closer towards the kids.

You glance at Cell to make sure he wasn't ready to pounce. 

Once you where sure he was just guarding the kids, you smiled up at the approaching duo.

"Manus! Jicama! It's so good to see you two". You take a look behind them, a little disappointed by the absence of a third friend. "Yule didn't tag along with you guys?".

"Naw, he said me and Jicama would have more fun if it was just the two of us". Manus crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head disapprovingly. "I told him that wasn't a nice thing to say about himself, but he didn't care"

You flash Jicama a knowing smile, making her face flush.

"And he hates the cold anyways! So it's not like he would want to be here", she sputtered defensibly.

"I see". You deliberately pat the spot next to you, away from the kids. "Anyways, take a seat. Pet this cow"

Manus nods enthusiastically and skips towards you. Once he's a good inch away from you, he sits down and tosses an arm over your shoulder. He gives you a good squeeze before rubbing his face on your hair.

Jicama shakes her head, a small smile on her face. She approaches your right side and sits next to Manus. 

In response to their new proximity, Cell stands even closer to the kids, almost looming over them.

You glare up at him, mentally begging him to behave. "And you guys remember Cell, right?", you gesture towards him.

"How could we forget", Jicama responds dryly.

Manus claps his hands together and cheers. "Yeah! He's your son's dad after all!".

Cell stares you down, eyes coated in a subtle warning. 

"Um, something like that, yes". You wave dismissively. "Oh, I don't think I've introduced the kids to you properly".

You gesture towards your two teammates. "Boys, this is Jicama and Manus, they are my friends".

"Jicama, Manus". You point towards the boy in a red hoodie. "This is Norio". Next you point to the boy in a violet windbreaker. "Dameon". You then lay your finger on a boy with a yellow skirt. "Travis". Then you point towards the one in a pink coat. "Curtis". Next you poke a boy in a navy sweater. "Junior". You then point towards one in a green bomber jacket "Dale". Finally, you gesture towards the last boy. "And Johnathan".

Manus waved at the kids. "Nice to meet you, formally".

Jicama nods at them in acknowledgement.

However, instead of answering back, the kids shy away from the duo. They avoid eye contact, or scoot closer to Cell.

You look around for something that could break the tension in the air. What seems like an eternity passes by until you finally find something.

"Oh look! This girl's name is Mint", you say as you point out her collar.

Manus covers his mouth, trying his best to contain a squeak of joy. "That is such a cute name! She's so cute!", he shouts as he pets her.

Jicama laughs and nudges your knee. "Yeah, I don't think you'll be able to get up anytime soon", she teases.

"Or ever since you're so soft and warm. You're stuck here", Manus jokingly chimed in.

"What? Are you leaving us?". Dale shot up from his sitting spot, his eyes glazed over with tears.

You turn to him, baffled by the sudden outburst. "Huh? No! Of course not", is what you manage to articulate.

Dale runs to you to hug you. You hold him close and whisper into his ear. "It was just a joke, sweetie".

You rub his back, doing your best to comfort him.

Mint nudges Dale, making him step away from you in fright.

You pet the cow with one hand and hold Dale with the other. "Hey it's okay, Mint just wanted you to pet her". 

Dale steps closer to you, still a bit weary of Mint. Despite this, he reaches out towards the cow and gives her a quick pat on the head.

Once he sees that there is no danger with petting a cow, he reaches out again and pets her more firmly.

"It feels funny", he mumbled.

You turn towards the rest of the kids and gesture them to take part in the action.

One by one, they stand up and approach Mint. Some pat her head and others stroke the fur on her hide.

"It has hair everywhere!", Junior awed as he leaned closer to Mint.

"It's fur", you pipe in.

Johnathan enthusiastically ruffled Mint's fur as he mused out loud, "Oh! So that's why it feels different!". 

"And it smells weird too!", Curtis pointed out.

Jicama leaned in towards Mint and sniffs the air closer to her. "Huh, smells like mint".

"Really?!". Manus buries his whole face on Mint's back. "It does smell like mint!". He mumbles into her fur.

This makes Mint moo and stand up.

She begins to walk away.

"Oh, no!" Manus stands up to follow her. "I'm so sorry, please come back".

Jicama grabs his hand, preventing him from leaving. "It's okay Manus, she probably got annoyed. You didn't hurt her"

Manus looked down at Jicama, a look of hope on his face. "You really think so?".

Jicama nodded, which made Manus immediately lighten up with a smile. 

She coughed and looked away as she let go of his hand. "Anyways, we should... go.. see the other animals. It's pretty, um, deserted up here", she stuttered as she stood up.

You dust yourself off as you stand up. "Yeah, you kids want to go?", you ask.

All of kids enthusiastically agree, even Norio, and follow behind you.

Meanwhile, Cell stays back under the tree. He watches intensely as the group retreats.

The group eventually reaches the busiest area, a patio in the center of the garden. It was full of patrollers and animals alike.

You let the kids loose, but let them know not to leave your site and to remember they couldn't raise their ki.

Manus busies himself with scooping up animals and taking them to you, which you gave fun facts about.

Jicama tries to stop Manus from picking up the larger animals, like horses or dinosaurs, in fear he would startle them.

Eventually you rounded up the kids because they undressed and decided to fly along with the flock of birds in the area. 

They where a little upset you made them dress up and stick to you, but you where sure the birds appreciated not being chased by some humanoid bugs.

You all stayed in the botanical garden until they closed, because the animals had to rest and be fed.

As you exit the botanical garden, you glance at Manus and Jicama.

"Man, I can't believe they're closed already". You cross your arms and give out a deep sigh. "It feels like we hardly got to see each other".

Manus reached out to pat your head. "Hey, we can still do something else together, if you want", he cheered.

"Really? You two wouldn't mind?". 

"Naw, we feel the same way", Jicama assured you.

You clasp your hands in excitement as you coo, "Aww! Guys!".

"I hope you have something in mind on what to do, because I don't", Manus laughed.

"The kids haven't gotten the chance to play in the snow, yet". You tap your chin in thought. "You two up for a snowball fight?".

Jicama shrugged and answered, "Sounds fun".

Thus, the whole group heads towards the building's exit. On the way there, you take the time to explain the rules of the game to the kids.

You dig into your bag and fetch a bundle of small knitted gloves.

You hand them out to the kids so they could play without having their hands go numb. 

"Alright, it's ten of us, how should we split?". You ask the children as you pull on your own gloves.

"Ummm, maybe all of us against you three?", Junior proposes.

"Grown ups against kids?". Jicama tightens her scarf around her neck. "Sounds fair".

"We won't go easy on you. Are you sure you want that, boys?", you say as you scan their faces. None of them seem to oppose the idea, so you nod at them in confirmation.

You, Jicama, and Manus create some distance between the kids and yourselves. Giving wake to a small field of snow for the group to play in.

"Alright, I'm going to set up my timer for five minutes", Jicama shouted as she fiddled with her watch.

You turn to Cell, who is keeping watch from a distance. You cup your hands around your mouth and shout, "Are you sure you don't want to play, Cell?".

He glances your way and crosses his arms in response. 

"That's a no", you sighed.

"The five minutes start….". Jicama raised an arm and then swung it down. "NOW".

The three of you dash into the snow and quickly prep your fort.

Manus digs up a trench while Jicama builds a sturdy wall. You stay beside them, balling up snow and staking them up in a pyramid.

The five minutes are up sooner than expected and you are all forced to a stop. You and Jicama jump behind the fortress since balls of snow are already being thrown your way.

Manus is doing his best to retaliate, but long ranged attacks were not his forte.

You grab a snowball and peek from behind the wall. The fortress the kids where able to build was pretty impressive.

It was a perfect solid semicircle.

Any snowball attack from your team didn't even put a dent on their wall. 

You laid down your snowball and retreated behind your fortress.

"We need a plan", you say.

Manus kneels beside you, trying his best to hide behind the cover. "Yeah, I'm not really good at aiming, Jicama is doing most of the damage", laughed.

Jicama throws one last ball before kneeling down to join you two. "I got a plan", she says with a smirk on her face.

You both get the plan running in a couple of minutes while Jicama distracts the kids.

You gather as many snowballs as you can in your arms, and leave plenty to spare for Jicama to use.

Manus lifts up a snowball the size of his whole torso and waits for you to position yourself.

You kneel in front of him, next to the edge of your fortress. 

"GO!", you shout as you run out from behind your cover to the open field, Manus right on your heels.

The two of you immediately become targets.

A ball of snow comes hurling your way, so you quickly grab a snowball of your own and throw it.

Both snowballs collide in midair, falling in a disfigured lump on the ground.

From the corner of your eye you see one of the boys raise their arm to throw a ball at you, but a chunk of snow comes crashing into his face: courtesy of Jicama.

You and Manus keep on running across the field, closer and closer to the opposing team.

Jicama's plan rang through your head as you blocked another snowball with one of your own.

_ "Manus must not be hit, at all costs, or he will drop the ball". _

But it was harder to follow that order once you where too close to the fortress. The two of you where bombarded by all of the kids at the same time.

Jicama was a great sniper, but the kids where too resilient. 

You had to resort to hitting your snowballs against theirs, making it look like you where punching the incoming projectiles.

The seconds that passed by for you two to reach the opposing fortress seemed eternal, but you where finally there.

Before you crashed into the semicircle wall, you jumped to the side. Behind you, Manus stopped centimeters from the fortress and dropped down the snowbomb.

Snow splashed everywhere, the wall was demolished, the kids where swept away, it was a complete slaughter of ice.

You pounced the ground with your fists because of the laughing fit you where having.

The look on the boys faces was priceless.

Some stared up at Manus, still trying to process what happened. Others protested against the defeat, claiming that your team cheated. And a minority of them where in awe of the spectacle that took place.

Manus glanced at the kids and then at you, "You think we overdid it?", he laughed sheepishly.

Jicama approached Manus and patted him on the back. "Naw, they where warned we weren't going to go easy on them".

You finally got up and patted the snow off of yourself, a wide grin still on your face.

"I demand a rematch!", Dameon protested as he pointed a finger at Jicama.

"Sorry, dear. It's getting late, I don't think there's time to have one". You said, much more composed than a second ago.

Jicama raised a brow as she asked, "What do you mean? I'm down for a round two".

"The light parade is going to start soon, so I think it's best we split". You wink at Jicama, making her roll her eyes as she tries to hide a blush.

Manus walks up to you and sweeps you off your feet with a tight hug. "Thanks for making time to hang out", he chirps.

"C'mon you don't have to thank me". You hug him back, placing your head under his chin. "After all, I missed you guys".

"You literally saw us yesterday", Jicama said dryly.

"And I missed you!", you stick your tongue out at Jicama.

Manus gently sets you and the ground, letting you go.

He throws an arm over Jicama's shoulder and waves you goodbye as he pulls her along the crowd.

"Have fun!", you shout as you watch them leave. 

Satisfied with the parting, you turn towards your family and wave them over to you. "Let's go, or we won't find a good place to watch the parade", you shout.

Crowds of patrollers stand behind little red flags, which are aligned to determine the path of the parade.

You guide your group behind the growing clutter of patrollers, mindful of how self-conscious the family was around large crowds.

Curtis craned up his neck, trying to see past the multitude. "What exactly are we looking at", he huffed.

"A light parade is going to pass through here in a bit".

"Is this really necessary?", Cell spat as he positioned himself between the crowd and the kids.

You flank the kids on the other side of Cell as you explained, "It's going to be a show even a grouch like you will approve of, dear".

The kids visibly jump and Cell gets into a battle stance when the lights are suddenly shut down in the vicinity. There is still light near the capsule Corp building, but it's far enough so that only a small dim streak illuminates the area the parade will take place.

"Relax, the parade is going to start soon". You pick up two of the closest kids, Norio and Travis, and guide them to sit on your shoulders. "So you can actually see something", you explained.

Cell followed suit and picked up the rest of the kids. One was resting on his head, two on his shoulders, and another two sat on his folded arms.

An announcement rings through the carnival, but you aren't able to hear it due to a high pitched voice shouting over it: 

"Hey, Norio! Am I glad to see you!".

Norio looked down towards the approaching figure, a boy with a beanie that brushed his hair into his face.

"Oh, it's you", Norio casually waved at the boy.

The boy sheepishly rubs the back of his head,

"Yeah. Hey, can you help me? I lost my mom and dad!" he laughed.

"Oh, my". You kneel down to the kid, a look of concern on your face. "Of course we can help. How do your parents look like?".

"Umm my dad is tall, and has black spiky hair". The kid rubs his chin in thought. "My mom is short and has a big coat on".

You stand up to your full night and try to search for anyone of that description. 

As you turn to your right, the corner of your eye catches something familiar. 

Red hair and orange skin.

You quickly turn back, but you don't find anyone with those characteristics. You rub your eyes, blaming the dim lighting for your bad sight.

Again, you try to search for a man with spiky black hair, but find a couple of those. Maybe hair is not a distinguishing descriptor.

You turn back to the boy and give him an apologetic smile. "Dear, maybe you should go into more detail of how your parents look", you suggested.

"Or maybe he can sit up here". Norio patted your shoulder. "Then he can see them".

"Good idea", you say as you kneel down next to the boy. Norio jumps off your shoulder and helps the boy up.

You stand back up and let the kid look around the crowd.

The boy brushed back his hair and scanned the area. "I can't see anything, there's too many people", the boy whines.

"Hey! Where are this child's parents?!", you shout.

If they couldn't be found with sight, maybe through sound would work.

"Mom! Dad!", the kid starts to shout.

When no one steps forward to claim the boy, you kneel on the ground and ask Travis to get down from your shoulder. He happily complies, so you stand back up. This time, you grab the boy from the sides and lift him up above your head.

"Mom! Dad!"

This time, there's an answer.

"There you are! I'm coming!". A distant voice rings through the noise.

"Excuse me". The figure says as they swim through the crowd. "Excuse me".

Once the person steps out from the multitude of patrollers and reaches your sight, your jaw almost drops.

It's Goku.

You have his kid!

His son...Goten….one of the only youths in Conton City, besides Trunks and Marron.

How did you not realize it before?!, you mentally screamed. 

Goten wiggled in your grasp, so you quickly set him on the down. Once on the ground, he runs towards his dad with open arms.

Goku kneel down to receive the hug. "Don't wander off kiddo, you scared your mom there", he lightly scolded.

Goten buried his face in his dad's chest,

"Sorry, I got distracted", he mumbled.

Goku let out a hearty laugh as he stood back up with Goten in his arms. He then turned to you and gave you a thumbs up.

"Thanks for finding my son".

You blink dumbly, still shocked and a little starstruck. "Uh. Yeah. No problem, um, Goku", you manage to say.

But suddenly Goku's cheerful demeanor drops.

He holds Goten almost protectively as he shoots a glare at Cell.

Cell takes the glare head on and returns one of his own.

The tension in the air is unreal, you're surprised none of the patrollers nearby has noticed it.

Despite your instincts telling you to run away, you cautiously step in between the two. You shoot Goku a pleading look, almost mentally communicating to him that any confrontation in such a public area was not a good idea.

Thankfully, Goku's composure relaxes and his signature smile comes back up.

"See ya! And thanks again!", Goku cheers as he waves goodbye and walks away with his son.

Goten peeks out from his dad's shoulder and shouts, "Bye Norio!".

Norio glanced between Goku and Cell, an unreadable look on his face.

He waves at Goten and shouts, "Bye Goten", much less enthusiastically than the other boy had.

You take in deep breaths in an effort to still your beating heart.

As soon as Goku is out of earshot, you immediately spin around to face Cell.

"Seriously?!", you hiss at him.

"Hmph". Cell tilted his head. "This means he must have noticed my presence before, how inconvenient".

You slap your forehead and run your hand down your face.

"That's all you have to say? Inconvin-"

_ Alright everyone! I hope you're ready for a spectacle! Happy holidays to you all!! _

Bulma's voice is what blared through the speakers all around the carnival. But as soon as it had appeared, it left, leaving in its place the sound of music.

You sighed, annoyed at the interruption, but decided to leave it at that. Cell would get it later.

You kneeled down and gestured to Norio and Travis to sit on your shoulders. As soon as they got comfortable, you held their legs and stood up to your full height.

The sound of instruments got louder and louder, indicating the proximity of the parade.

"Look! Look!", Travis laughed as he pointed at the approaching marching band.

White, green, and red glowing instruments waved through the air. Their players where dressed all in black as to give the illusion that the instruments where floating.

Then a herd of deer in little shining white vests walked by, pulling a vast red slay behind them. On top of the slay was a Mr.Satan, who began to throw candy and glow sticks at the crowd.

After that, dancers decorated in round glowing sticks of various colors flipped and twirled by.

A massive menorah candelabra strolled behind the dancers. And once it got close enough to the crowd, it let out a stream of fireworks into the sky. Filling it with colorful fire and smoke, almost putting the stars above to shame.

The spectators awed and cheered in response, which triggered another set of fireworks to fly off.

A small, almost inaudible, gasp caught your ear.

You turned to your left, to find Cell with his mouth slightly agape.

The light of the fireworks danced in his eyes, accentuating the shining wonder held inside.

You subtly looked away as to not catch Cell's attention, afraid that he would try to mask his face if you saw him expressing himself like this.

But no matter how hard you tried, you couldn't help but glance back at him for the rest of the night.

Each face of awe, each show of excitement, each secret smile, you wanted to see it all.

This Cell….you had never seen this part of him.

It was….different

The being in front of you right now, he was way different from the one you met.

Heck, even from the Cell of a month ago.

Maybe this is why….

Despite his plans to conquer Conton City, you couldn't find yourself able to report him.

Cell could change.

He may be a complete bastard at times, but…

Even then…

Just like with the kids, you want him to be happy, too.

  
  



	11. Time Patrol Graduation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yikes didn't mean to neglect the next chapter but really was not feeling it. But now I'm finally satisfied with the result! Enjoy babes!

The sound of applause echoed through the field. 

A small gathering of patrollers stood on top of a modest stage, all waiting for the audience to settle down.

Chronoa decided to step in by waving her hands down, a sign for the crowd to be quiet.

Once everything was in order, Trunks walked up to the center of the stage.

"Now that we know every single one of our graduates, I would like to give a few words before handing out their time gear".

"I am proud of every single one of them. Proud to have seen them grow into such capable-"

Was all you where able to hear before your gaze drifted to the patrollers lined up behind Trunks. Specifically, Cell.

He was going to be a patroller.

It was all so unreal.

The feeling of the squeezing of your throat was overwhelming.

You where proud of Cell, after all, he met patroller standards. He even graduated months early, for kai's sake.

But with that mix of pride and joy, was the bitter aftertaste of apprehension.

Now that you thought about it…

You never had a chance to teach Cell how to behave like a patroller before he took the academy's psychological test, yet he managed to pass it.

That fact alone made your tight throat begin to burn. For if he expertly lied about that without much insight of the responsibility of a patroller, what else has he been lying about?

As soon as he graduated and was free to roam through time…

_ "What if he's on a mission and kills an innocent person?". _

You gasped as Maria's past warning burst out from the back of your mind and echoed in your head.

_ "Look, this is all a temporary solution, Cell will eventually step out of line". _

You rubbed your throat, trying to ease the building pressure in it.

Cell wouldn't hurt anyone, it wasn't convenient at the moment. He still had to pass a probation period. Plus, getting in trouble would ruin his plans to conquer the city, right?

And given enough time, maybe you could even change his mind about that? He could join your team and then you could show him what it's like to be a patroller.

There was no need to be worried.

Your eyes shifted back to Trunks who was now passing out the official patroller equipment, a time watch and a scouter, indicating the end of the ceremony.

Maybe you should talk to Trunks about your concerns?

But you soon discarded that idea when the time came to hand Cell his patroller equipment. You saw how Trunks clenched on to the scouter and time watch. How he took just a second too long to let them go.

A deep sigh escaped your mouth.

Maybe you where just overreacting.

Maybe it was the beginning of something new and unpredictable that had you on edge, not the fear of Cell doing something unspeakable.

After all, he is a patroller now, that had to mean something.

You smiled and gave a thumbs up when you caught Cell's eyes on you.

He tilted his head up, just enough to flash you the perfect snooty little grin back.

You rolled your eyes at him, a bit more at ease now.

He seemed happy, so you should be too. 

The crowd began to disperse a bit, now that the ceremony was over. You finally had the chance to meet up with Cell and personally congratulate him.

It was easy to spot him from a distance since he was standing all by himself. You found yourself picking up your pace the closer you got to him, to the point where the kids had to run a little to keep up with you.

When you finally reached Cell, you couldn't help but embrace him.

But the affectionate gesture didn't last for more than a second, he practically slapped your forehead with the ferocity of his grip. 

He pushed you away and firmly held you at arm's length. "What do you think you're doing?", he growled.

You grabbed his hand and tugged on it, trying to remove it from your forehead. "Sorry, Cell! I'm just so proud of you, I couldn't help it!", you whined as you continued to struggle with his grip.

Cell looked away, the scowl on his face softening dramatically until there was only a small glare left. "Don't ever do that again", he huffed as he finally let go of you.

Brushing down your hair a little, you gave him a slight eye-roll. 

Cell paid no mind to your display of annoyance. Instead, he shrugged as he said, "Anyways, this whole pointless ceremony is over with, let's not linger longer than needed".

The kids cheered at that, and promptly began to follow Cell as he walked away.

"Hey! Wait!", you joged to close the distance with the group, "We aren't going home yet, sweethearts".

The kids halted in their tracks and excitingly looked up at you.

"We are going to eat out!".

  
  
  


The roar of the waterfall echoed through the forest. It was almost defending, but you had set a picnic far enough as to be able to hear everyone else speak.

"What is that noise?", Curtis complained as he covered his ears.

"Its water". You set down your heavy backpack on to the ground next to the picnic mantle. "We will go see it in a second, after all, that's where our lunch is".

"Lunch?", piped up Junior.

"I know, you are all hungry, but patience, okay? Just let me set up a fire pit". You laughed as you fetched some timber blocks from your bag.

You dug up a small pit with your hands and then stacked the wood in a small pyramid inside.

You dusted up your hands as you stood up, admiring your work.

"Alright, now follow me, we are going fishing".

The family followed you to the edge of a cliff. The closer you got the louder the boom of the waterfall.

"What is that?!", Jonathan shouted over the noise.

"A waterfall!". You scream back, hands around your mouth in an effort to be louder than the water. "Lunch is right below! You have to catch it!".

The kids looked over the cliff, and then back at you.

You shake your head and can't help but laugh a bit at their confused faces. "We have to jump off!".

You turn heel and run up to the edge of the cliff and take a dive.

You fall for a whole fifteen seconds before you finally meet the embrace of the water. The momentum of your fall helped you dive in deep, yet not close at all to the bottom floor of the lake. 

Schools of fish swam above you, mirroring a flock of birds. None seemed bothered by your presence. 

However, that didn't mean no one took notice of you.

From the deep blue depths below you, a gigantic Mount Paozu fish sped towards you. By the time you noticed it, the aquatic predator had already slammed into you, pushing you out into the surface.

You broke the surface of the water screaming, startled by the strength which the fish had tossed you. The sudden feeling of weightlessness made your instincts of flight kick in, just before you fell into the gaping mouth of the Paozu.

Before you could fly out of its reach, the gigantic fish jumped towards you and managed to clasp its jaws over your leg.

Since you where unprepared, it dragged you back into the depths of the water.

Getting tired of being treated like a rag doll by a fish, you arched back your arm and delivered a fatal blow to its temple.

Now that its head was bashed in, it was quite easy to free yourself from its mouth.

With your hold on its jaw, you began to swim back to the surface.

You took a deep breath, glad to finally be able to breath again. 

Noticing that the lake was calm and undisturbed, you looked up towards the peak of the waterfall to see that the kids where still up there. They where peeking over the edge, staring at you.

You smiled and raised your catch towards them, trying to encourage them to jump down.

"Your lunch isn't going to serve itself you know?!", you shouted.

The kids glanced towards each other, and then walked away from the edge, out of your view. But not for long, one by one they jumped off the cliff and into the water. The impact of their fall created sizable waves that splashed into you. Yet, you manage to keep hold on your catch, for now.

Once the Mount Paozu fish begin their pursuit on the kids, the water begins to pull and push against you. It's as strong as the wild ocean waves, despite the fact you're supposed to be in a freshwater lake. That's when you decide to fly up, not wanting to be swept away.

You land at the top of the waterfall, fish in hand, and begin to tread towards the picnic site.

However, you're a little disappointed to see that Cell was there, empty handed. 

"Is something the matter?", you ask as you head towards the unlit campfire and lay the catch next to it.

Cell is too busy fidgeting with his time watch to spare you a glance, but he does answer.

"I will hunt only after my progeny are done".

"Aww! That's surprisingly sweet of you", you coo as you begin to dig into your backpack for a knife.

Cell squinted at you, "Are you daft? They are imperfect hunters, watching them will only sour my mood".

You stopped your rummaging to glare up at Cell. "Then why don't you teach them, Mr. Perfect Cell".

"You can't teach that, hunting is learned from experience".

You stand up, unable to focus completely on looking for a knife now. "Oh? Is that why you don't teach them anything at all? Like how to fight properly?", you laugh.

He rolls his eyes as he continues fidgeting with his watch. "Don't pretend as if you know how fighting works, darling".

You cross your arms and arch a brow. "Are you trying to say something, sweetheart?".

"You truly are daft, must I spell it out for you? You're a terrible fighter, honey".

"Is that really what you think, dear?", you laughed as you phased out from where you where standing and right in front of Cell.

Your body whipped around, delivering a powerful roundhouse kick. Cell is barely able to catch it. His eyes are wide with surprise, but it quickly shifts to that of sparkling joy once he takes notice of the playful smirk on your face.

The only warning you get from him is the way his grip on your leg tightens before he hurls you towards the ground. Your back meets the ground with a loud thud. 

Cell makes quick work to pin you on the ground. He raises his fist, ready to pummel you.

But your reflexes kick in just in time, you tangle your legs around him in a way that allows you to roll him over. You sit proudly on top of him, however, you aren't able to do a thing. Cell raises a hand to your chest and blasts you off of him.

You manage to flip midair to catch your fall. You spring from the ground, just in time to catch the flurry of blows Cell launches at you.

The both of you strike and parry, none really managing to land a hit.

The one lucky enough to land a solid punch is Junior, who sends you plummeting into the ground. 

Looks like the children are done fishing, you conclude as you lay on the dirt.

Before you have a chance to get back up, three of the kids surround you and unleash a barrage of kicks and punches. You have no option but to flare up your ki and knock them away from you. 

Up in the sky, you catch a glimpse of the rest of the kids battling with Cell. Norio and Dameon try to face him head-on, meanwhile Curtis and Dale blast him from a distance. Despite the fact that he is surrounded, Cell hardly bats an eye. Even his movements aren't as energetic as when he was sparing with you.

Soon enough, you have to tear your attention away from the sky to dodge an upcoming kick from Jonathan. 

You dodge his attacks and wait for Junior and Travis to join the barrage. 

Once all three of them are attacking you, you wink at them and gesture towards Cell. Then you break away from them and phase out.

You reach Cell in a matter of seconds and deliver a surprise knee to his stomach. The force of the hit has him doubled over and immobile. That's when you grab Dameon and Norio and fly above Cell. You release them and quickly charge up for a ki blast.

You slam one of your ultimate attacks into Cell, sending him plummeting into the ground.

"C'mon kids! Don't just stand there! Get ready!", you shout over the explosion.

Shook from their stillness, the kids rapidly descend and surround Cell.

As soon as your attack fades, they simultaneously bombard their father with blows to the point of having him pinned to the ground.

But not for long, soon Cell releases an explosion of ki that sends the kids blasting away.

He phases out, and before you know it, he's right behind you.

He doesn't attack you just yet, instead, he takes his time to let out a hearty laugh.

Then he places a firm hand on your shoulder, "How cute, you managed to think up a whole strategy, all by yourself", he mocked.

He swiftly turned you around to face him and buried his fist deep in your stomach. The force hurled you towards the forest and through some trees until you finally met the ground.

Before you could even process what had happened, Cell had appeared above you. He picked you up by the collar of your shirt, and was about to strike you with his fist. But he didn't.

"Look at you. Is that really all it took to take you down?". He tusked as he lifted you off the ground. "And here I thought the fight was beginning to get interesting. But I suppose I deserve to be disappointed for mistakenly believing a human could put up a fight".

You planted your feet firmly on the ground and flashed him a taunting smirk, "This human still knocked the wind out of you, sweetheart".

Cell's face practically glowed.

"I hope you're ready to regret those words, dear". 

"Wait! I take it back". You stepped back from Cell, hands up in surrender. "I might have a minor concussion, so I'm not about to keep fighting, okay?".

Cell rolled his eyes before shoving you back on the ground.

"What part of 'concussion' did you not understand?", you whined as you tenderly held your head.

"You're fine", he grumbled as he bent down to pick you up by the back of your shirt. He dragged you all the way back to the campsite.

As soon as you got a hold of yourself, you took your time to cook. You only took care of your own fish since the kids ate all of their catch raw. They regretted doing that once they got a taste of what the roasted Mount Paozu fish was like, so you give them most of your lunch. It's not like you could finish the whole thing anyways.

Cell did not come back from fishing until sunset, and by then the kids where tired out and asleep. The fighting from earlier had taken more out of them than you had previously thought. Or maybe it was because they had eaten well that they had gotten sleepy?

You patted the ground next to you, inviting Cell to sit with you. However, he stood a few feet away from you, under the canopy of the forest with no intentions of sitting with you.

You sigh, a bit amused.

The two of you spent a moment in silence, watching the sky turn from blue to pink and purple.

After a while, you decided to speak.

"Did you like today?".

Cell glanced at you before answering, "Why do you ask?".

**"** I wanted this to be a a good day for you, for your graduation so I-"

"It was fine".

Again, silence fell over you two, but instead of admiring the sunset your mind began to wander. The anxiety from earlier became the only thing filling your thoughts.

"Have you thought of maybe, um, joining a team, perhaps?".

Cell shook his head, "You're not much for subtlety, are you, dear?", he chuckled. 

You held your legs closer to you and pouted.

"Aww c'mon Cell at least consider the idea of joining my team". 

"Combining forces with a purple lizard, a giant plant, a feeble little human, and a tail girl?". Cell condescendingly glared at you. "The thought doesn't deserve my consideration".

"For your information, we are a pretty formidable group". You shot him a slight glare back. "You just haven't seen us in action yet".

"I have, and let me tell you, I rather not be bossed around by tail girl". Cell shrugged. "Or anyone in that matter".

"Bossed? She doesn't-wait when have you seen us in a fight?".

"Back when you had that battle in the snow".

"We where playing, it wasn't a real fight".

Cell rolled his eyes. "From that fight alone, I can already tell what rolls you all fulfill in your team". He listed each one of you with his fingers." You are the shield, the green one is the hitter, and tail girl is the brain".

"Sweetheart, you couldn't be more wrong". You wiggled your eyebrows at him. "But if you join us you'll find that out for yourself".

"No thank you", he said without sparing you a look. 

"Well, if not my team, my friend Oscar's group is also looking-"

"I don't plan on joining any team, whatsoever".

"Huh?". You stood up then. "Why not?"

"Dear, nobody else is up to my standards, they will just weigh me down".

Again, the thought of having him roam around time on his own made your stomach churn.

Or maybe it was the face he was making. He looked so at peace. His face was relaxed, not that shielded neutrality he always wore.

Cell….

He deserves a chance to be trusted. 

"Cell, I..". You stepped closer to him, drawn in by his serene demeanor.

You will give him the chance to be trusted, so why did you still feel uneasy? 

Why did you feel….

Worried about him?

Cell turned to look at you, waiting for you to continue what you where saying. 

Suddenly, it clicks. You know why you're worried.

"It's hard to go solo, especially when you're just starting out, so be careful, alright?".

Cell turned his face away from you then. It's quiet for a while, and for a moment you think he isn't going to answer at all. But then he speaks up, his voice laced with a gentleness you've never heard him use before.

"There's no need for such sentiments, dear, I'm perfect".

  
  
  
  
  
  



	12. New Year, New Resolutions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is going to be another long chap so I'm just going to post half of it like I did with ch10. Hate leaving y'all in the dark for long. The other half will be up next month, latest. Anyways, thank all of you for the kind comments :) Love y'all and enjoy !!  
Edit: It is all up BABEY! Drink it up bois.

The circular penthouse was filled to the brim with patrollers. Some strictly stuck to the open bar, filling the spaces in between light chatter with a sip of wine. Others let loose on the dance floor, preferring to let their moves do the talking. However, most guests flocked around the host of the party: a tall and lean red majin.

They all hung to his every word and would gawk or applause as he acted out his many time rift expeditions.

You felt lost here.

The patroller rank of these people far surpassed your own, making you feel quite inadequate. So you stood on your tippy toes, searching for the person who had invited you to such a party.

A disgruntled Cell stood beside you, arms crossed over himself. 

"Why am I here?", he grumbled 

You didn't bother sparing him a glance, you knew the neutral dissatisfied face he was wearing by memory. "Oscar invited us, it would be rude not to show up". You continued to look over the crowd with no luck of finding said friend.

"He invited _ you _", Cell retaliated.

You planted the sole of your feet back on to the wooden floor, officially giving up on possibly finding Oscar. 

It was then that you shrugged and laughed, "C'mon honey, it's just a party. You'll be fine".

Cell discards his stoic face to raise a brow and shoot you an incredulous look.

"Okay, okay". You wave your hands defensibly in front of yourself. "This is a super tier party, so I couldn't come on my own".

Cell rolls his eyes. "It sounds like you where _ afraid _ to come to this ridiculous gathering on your own", he huffed.

"I was not". You cross your arms. But Cell doesn't stop giving you a judgmental stare, so you cast down your gaze. "...well maybe I was a little intimidated".

"You're pathetic, I'm leaving", Cell barked as he turned around and began to make his way towards the exit.

"Wait Cell, please!". You grab his arm, stopping him in his tracks. "Just stay for a bit, at least until Maria gets here".

"No".

"Please! There's tons of food and an open bar, isn't that enough?".

Cell tilted his head in thought and let out a soft Hmmmm. "Maybe if your begging was a little better…", he muttered.

You glared at the visible side of his face. "Now you're just being mean", you spat.

Cell fully turned away from you as he announced, "I'll take my leave then".

You tighten your grip on his arm and almost whine, "Please, stay".

At this, Cell turned your way, just enough to look down at you.

He is waiting for you to continue.

You harden your glare, but swallow down your dignity before speaking again.

"Don't leave, please".

By the way Cell turns his face away from you, nose up in the air, it's clear he's not satisfied with your begging. 

You take a deep breath, tempted to tell him to get lost instead. But the feeling of everyone's high power level around you makes you think twice about it. Once again, you say goodbye to your pride and pathetically mumble, "I need you, please stay".

Cell turns his person to fully face you. He has a cruel amused grin plastered on his face.

"Fine, I'll stay for a little longer".

"You are such a…". You rub your face, trying to take off the flush from your cheeks. "Let's just go to the snack table".

You weave your way through the crowd, deliberately avoiding the red majin and his fans. It's not like you didn't like him, he's Oscar's friend and the city's number one patroller. He's the crowned hero that saved Conton from the wannabe demon god, how could you hate him?

You simply did not know how to handle the majin. 

By Oscar's own words, Rojito literally has one brain cell and uses it to create havock.

Finally, you make it to the snack table, which isn't much of a table at all. It's a whole buffet area.

Must be nice being number one, you bitterly think to yourself.

Yet, the thought doesn't stop you from piling up a plate full of food. 

You do almost end up dropping said plate when you see Cell eating straight out of a buffet food tray.

"Cell! You aren't supposed to eat from there!". You desperately grab an empty plate from a nearby pile and hand it to him. "You put whatever you want on a plate and eat it when you're sitting at a table".

Cell takes the offered plate in his hands and looks it over. "But the dishes presented are already on plates", he argues.

"Those are trays, so different patrollers can help themselves to the same dish". You pick up a pair of tongs laying on the salmon Cell was picking from and scoop up a serving. "Here, like this".

Cell watches as you empty the scoop on his plate and tilts his head in thought.

"So this is a communal eating area?".

You shrug your shoulders as you explain, "Technically, all of the places we have gone to eat at are communal eating areas".

"That can't be". Cell gestures towards the tray he was eating from. "Strangers did not eat from our portion of food".

You pinched the bridge of your nose with your free hand and sighed, "Cell the whole salmon tray is not yours".

"I can make it mine".

"For the love of kaioshin, just use the plate". You set a hand on Cell's shoulder and tried to guide him away from the salmon. "That way you can eat many different dishes at the same time".

Cell scrunches his face as he glances from the plate he's holding to the varying trays of food in front of him. He doesn't verbally agree with your logic, but he does begin to pile up food on his plate.

You let out a sigh, relieved that you did not have to fight him on this.

Soon enough, the two of you settle down on a table. Cell is chowing down plate after plate. Personally, you're used to saiyan eating habits so seeing someone chow down at high speeds is not unusual. However, it is the first time you witness Cell eat at such quantities, so it's particularly unsettling to see how clean he is. Even the plates are white after he's done with them.

You try to ignore the uncanny sight and focus on your own meal. Thankfully, that's pretty easy to do when the food just melts in your mouth. 

Must be nice being number one, you recall in the same bitter tone as before.

You are on your second plate by the time Cell begins to slow down his eating speed. 

At one point he stops and begins paying more attention to the patrollers around the two of you.

"Everyone here has a high power level", he mentioned offhandedly.

You wipe down your mouth with a napkin before answering, "Duh, what part of 'super tier party' did you not understand, dear?".

Cell leans forward to rest his chin on his open hand. "I'm trying to decipher why a feeble thing like yourself would be invited to such a place", he mocked.

"You called this party ridiculous a while ago". You leaned back and let out a satisfied sigh. The cuisine was amazing, so it was easy to brush off Cell's insult. "But if you really have to know, Oscar is a super tier patroller".

Cell shifted his face so the hand he was leaning on could cover the forming smile on his mouth. "A human at such a high power level tier? That's rich", he laughed.

"He and his teammates are literally the top three patrollers in the city", you retaliated.

Cell leaned back on his seat and crossed his arms over himself. The jeering grin he was hiding was now in full display. 

"Let me guess, he fulfills some type of supporting role in the team and has reaped the rewards of the stronger members like a leech?".

"Why do you find the need to antagonize humanity?".

"I'll take that as a yes". Cell chuckled for a second before continuing to speak. "But I am curious, what supporting role does he fulfill for his team to allow such a weakling to tag along?"

"Oscar is not weak". You shoot Cell a slight glare, still mostly pacified by your full stomach. "He basically carries his team, he's a gifted strategist and healer after all".

Cell covered his grin in an attempt to suppress bursting into laughter. Once he was composed enough, he answered, "It doesn't seem like it, especially the strategist part".

You where about to say something, but decided against it. If you took Cell seriously, the discussion would end in a fight. So you shrugged as you commented off hand, "You don't know him like I do".

"Right". Cell let out an annoyed huff. His mocking grin now nothing but a dissatisfied line."How much longer until your other pathetic human friend arrives?".

You lift up your wrist to look at your time patroller watch and press at a side button to open up your message box, but there are no new notifications.

"I don't know, she hasn't answered my texts. I guess that time rift mission is going on longer than expected?".

You gaze back to see that you aren't talking to Cell anymore. You aren't talking to anyone. As a matter of fact, the seat in front of you is empty.

You stood up so fast the chair toppled over. But no matter how hard you searched, Cell was lost to the crowd.

You even tried sensing his ki, but everyone else's power levels muted his.

With a defeated sigh, you picked up your chair and sat back down. As long as he didn't cause any trouble, you supposed it was fine. 

Although, now that he was gone, you realized that you had begged him to stay for nothing.

The next hour or so you spend sitting alone at a table, looking through old pictures on your time watch.

It has been a while since you've seen your younger face. Back then, you only had Oscar and Maria. They where your team.

Sometimes you miss going on big missions with them, but all of you understood that you couldn't remain a team. There was no type of balance. Maria and yourself focused on close to medium range fighting while Oscar was the healer. Needless to say, Oscar always ended up badly hurt since he had to rush into the middle of the battlefield to help you two.

Nowadays Maria is in an all-human team, the five of them are pretty sturdy. They are all close combat fighters, so they all fight as a tightly knitted unit. 

Oscar, on the other hand, has only two other teammates. These two are the strongest patrollers in Conton City, so they keep Oscar out of danger much more effectively than you and Maria ever could. Of course, it helps that one can regenerate instantly and the other can go super saiyan.

As you prepare to swipe to another picture, a looming shadow blocks the light that was shining down on you, effectively obscuring the photograph in your watch.

"Aren't you the one that smuggled that giant bug from a time rift into Conton city?".

You froze, not even daring to look up at the patroller speaking to you.

Before you even thought of what to say, another stranger answers for you.

"It is them!". They bend down to take a look at your face. Golden eyes bore into yours. "I can't believe it, you really are just a human".

"And not even a strong one". The other patroller took hold of your shoulder, triggering the need to curl your hands into a ball and smash it into whoever was touching you. 

The twitching of your fingers was so bad you had to shove your hands into your pockets.

You slowly breath out your nose to gather the strength to face the patroller beside you. As you look up, you are greeted by a mocking smile. "Tell me, how did you do it?".

You stutter for words, not really knowing what to say yet afraid being quiet will allow your reflexes to take over, "Um..I..Listen, I think-"

But you are rudely interrupted as the stranger who was hovering close to your face stood back up to their full height, declaring, "I don't think it's that hard to figure out".

"Oh you mean?", the other one laughed.

That obnoxious laugh had you clenching your jaw. You wanted to shout, to-

"Obviously, don't they seem awfully close to Trunks?", they giggled back.

The patroller holding your shoulder let go so they could cover their widening grin. You had to take a deep breath to compose yourself. Any second you would burst, so you began to look around for a means to escape the situation.

"Oh I was thinking more about the supreme kai of time-"

"Are you two seriously doing this right now?", a lilac ice-demon loudly sighed as he approached your table.

You're so excited to see a friendly face that all you can do is shout out, "Yule!".

"Oh? It seems they just let anyone attend super gatherings nowadays", one of the patrollers snapped.

Yule stood between you and the two instigating patrollers. "Seeing as the two of you are here, it seems like it", he snapped back.

The other patroller began to pull up their sleeves as they growled, "You're going to regret that ice-boy".

It was then that you finally stood up. With no idea what to do, you where surprised to hear yourself say, "Seriously? Are you all really going to cause a commotion at Rojito's party? The Conton city hero?".

Yule and the two strangers stare each other down. It feels like an eternity, but the two patrollers brush Yule off and decide to finally take their leave.

You wait until they are out of earshot to let go of the breath you were holding. Thank the kais they don't personally know Rojito because that would not have worked, you thought. 

"Huh, good one there". Yule praises as he pats your back, effectively bringing you out of your head. "You've definitely changed you know?".

"What do you mean?".

"Don't act dumb". He laughed. "Remember how we met?".

You rolled your eyes as you settled yourself back on your chair. "Thanks for reminding me of the ki blast to the head", you laughed.

"No! I guess... that's technically the first time I had ever seen you, but no". He pulled out the chair adjacent to you and settled down as well. "I meant the night at the Turtle Bar".

You palmed your forehead and dragged it down your face as you muttered, "Oh no, don't remind me".

"What? Regret your bar browling days?", Yule teased.

"Yes! Those were my young angry years!", you whine. 

"I mean, if it weren't for those angry years you wouldn't have met Manus, Jicama, and I". Yule shrugged and flashed you a grin. "So how bad can it be?".

"Meeting you three was the only good thing that came out of that". You paused for a moment, taking a second to digest all of the memories that were resurfacing from back then. All the fights you had started, all the times Trunks had suspended you from patrolling, all the times you felt like it was just you, Maria, and Oscar against the world. "It changed my mind about other races. That not everyone was a big headed asshole that looked down on humans". You glanced up at Yule, and quickly added, "No offense".

"I used to look down on humans until I met you, so none taken".

"Awww Yule! You never told me that".

"Don't let it get to your head".

"I will". You rubbed your temples, as if massaging the memory into your skull. "It's in my head and it's not leaving". 

"Fine, whatever makes you happy".

"Speaking of happy". You clasped your hands together. "I'm so glad you're here! I didn't think I'd find anyone I knew".

Yule leaned back on his chair, arms crossed over his chest. His face was crestfallen and his voice hollow. "Do you think I shouldn't be at a super gathering?".

You wave your hands in front of you now as you stutter, "No-I mean-It's just-".

But you stop panicking as soon as Yule begins to laugh. He sounds so serious sometimes, you complain to yourself before you continue to speak. "-I asked the whole team if they wanted to be my plus one, and all of you said you already had different plans". 

"Well, that's on you for not specifying what event you needed a plus one for". He shook his head and tusked at you before continuing. "But now I see why you would bring Cell, of all people".

You abruptly stood up as you shout, "Oh! Where is he? He just walked away from me and I haven't been able to feel his ki with all these super patrollers around!".

"Can't even give a guy a warning". Yule muttered to himself as he placed a hand over his heart. But once he sees that you heard him, by the annoyed glare you shot him, he clears his throat and answers, "If you really have to know, Cell is at the open bar".

"Oh, no. A smashed Cell doesn't sound good".

You step away from the table and are about to make a b-line towards the bar but Yule grabs the back of your shirt, stopping you in your tracks.

"Relax, he ain't your problem", he sighed as he pulled you back towards the table. He tries to guide you back to your seat, but you resist and insist that, "I can't just ditch him!".

"He ditched you", Yule scolded in a deadpanned tone.

"Ah-but that's-um".

Seeing that you weren't going to sit back down, Yule stood up. "How about we just go dance or something?".

"But Yule!".

Said ice-demon began to pull you along with him. "He's fine", he insisted.

You huffed, a little annoyed, but Yule was right. Cell did ditch you. 

Yet, you couldn't help but glance towards the direction of the bar as Yule walked you to the upper floor of the penthouse.

It's a mystery how the live band keeps playing without pause. The music is fast and wild, hypnotizing the crowd into moving like their life depended on it. Including you and Yule. Especially Yule.

He is an amazing dancer, and he doesn't stop short from twirling and twisting you around. You had to stop him from throwing you in the air at one point. But you can't deny that this is the most fun you've had all night, despite the dance floor being so tightly fitted. This results in you bumping into random people, but most don't even notice. 

It's until Yule decides to surprise you by tripping your feet to dip you all the way to the ground that someone notices you. Specifically, they notice how you kicked their hip.

"What the hell is wrong-". The victim of your kick stops in their tracks. A smile begins to form on their face."You're here!". 

"Oscar!". You wiggle yourself out of Yule's arm and run up to hug Oscar. However, you then broke the hug to smack him on the shoulder. "I texted you that I was here, why didn't you answer?!".

Oscar leaned in towards you, trying to be heard over the music and the crowd. "Sorry I don't carry my time watch with me at parties". He lifted his wrist up to your eye level, revealing it was bare. "Last time I got so drunk I couldn't walk, so I smashed it on one of my falls. It was such a hassle to get a new one". As he was complaining, Oscar looked behind you. "And where is Maria?".

You shake your head before leaning into his ear, "She hasn't even answered if she will make it or not".

"She better not spend new years in a time rift". Oscar pouts and taps his foot impatiently. "What kind of a year will I have if you two aren't the first thing I see?".

"Oscarrr!", you coo as you give him another quick hug.

As soon as you let go, Oscar gestures towards you and Yule. "Anyways, what's up with you two? Enjoying the party?", he asks.

Yule waves his hand from side to side as he says, "Eh, it's so-so".

"Yeah these super parties can be quite a bore". Oscar dramatically claps his hands together and begins to rub them. "Up until past midnight when everyone is drunk out of their mind".

Yule taps his chin and answers. "With an open bar available this year, I think that will happen before midnight".

Oscar almost jumps in place. "I hope so! Then I can ask drunk strangers for their zeni much sooner!", he giggles.

You shoot Oscar an incredulous look. "You're a super patroller! Why are you taking zeni from your wasted guests?".

Oscar's excitement dissipates as he crosses his arms and huffs out, "I have a very expensive lifestyle".

Your look of disbelief hardened into a slight glare.

It's then that Oscar's serious face breaks into a mischievous smile. "And I like to imagine the face they make when they sober up and are missing their zeni", he laughs.

Yule shrugs as he says, "I mean, they would never suspect you. So why not?".

You direct your glare at Yule, and then back at Oscar.

"You two are evil". But you quickly shift your glare into a more playful one. "And you better not get caught".

Oscar is about to reply, but the trumpet player lets out a sharp note that pierces through the dance floor.

Oscar immediately perks up, "This is my jam! C'mon!", he shouts as he takes your hand.

After an hour or so, the three of you weave through the crowd and out of the dance floor. Tired and catching your breath, you are relieved Oscar and Yule finally had their fill of dancing.

However, before you can even suggest you three take a seat anywhere, someone calls out:

"Oscar!". A tail-less saiyan shouts as he approaches the group. "We need you at the open bar! Asap! Some idiot challenged Rojito to a drinking competition!".

Oscar hunched over as he let out an irritated groan.

Yule shook his head disapprovingly, "When will saiyans learn they can't outcompete a majin in food and drink", he tusked.

"It's not a saiyan this time". The man grabbed Oscar by the arm and began to pull him along. 

It took a second for those words to sink in, but when they did, oh boy. You felt like you had dived into cold water again.

He wouldn't, you repeated like a mantra as you sped towards the open bar.

_ Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug! _

The chanting of the masses got louder the closer you got to the bar. As soon as you where in reach, it was obvious who was competing against Rojito. You rubbed your eyes, half wishing that you had imagined it. But when you open them back up, it's undeniable that Cell was the one downing shot after shot.

Yule grabbed your shoulder, "Look, I know what you're thinking, but you shouldn't. That asshole doesn't even deserve having you worried over him, let's just-"

"Yule, please, stop". You shrugged off his hold on you. "It's complicated between Cell and I, but I do consider us friends...somewhat. But that's enough for me!".

Yule reaches up his head to pull on his horns. "Ughh! Lets go get him already then!", he shouts.

You can't help but cast him a smile before you focus back on to the patrollers in front of you. Taking a deep breath, you dive in, pushing and squeezing yourself all the way to the front.

"Rojito?! What the hell? I left for five minutes!".

Is what you hear when you stumble out of the multitude.

Oscar and his saiyan friend are at Rojito's side, each with a look of shock on their face. As you get closer, you can see why.

His face is sickly green and his red skin is gooey enough to slowly start dripping on the floor. 

However, Rojito does not answer, he's too busy chugging down liquor.

Oscar turns towards the bartenders, a slight glint of fear in his eyes. "How many bottles has it been?", he asks.

"I don't know man, all the empty bottles are over there", one of them gestures behind the counter.

You took a look and almost wished that you hadn't. There where too many empty tequila bottles. Both of them where drinking so fast that a bartender had to stand there to receive empty bottles and hand out full ones while the others served.

The heavy weight of apprehension perched on your shoulders, but you couldn't fight the urge to see what state Cell was in. He was sitting a foot away from you, practically right beside you, so you slowly,painfully, turned your head his way.

At this point, you really didn't know what to expect. But from all the possibilities available, you wouldn't have guessed that it was possible for Cell to not be affected at all.

He looked focused on drinking, even.

Just what the hell was he made of?

"Leek". Oscar turned to the saiyan beside him. "For me to heal him, you have to restrain Rojito".

Leek turned from Oscar to Rojito and back at Oscar before saying, "What? And have him mad at me for making him lose?".

"Do you want him to melt into a puddle and possibly die?", Oscar scolded as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

Leek crossed his arms defiantly and kept on arguing, "Can't you heal him while he's drinking?".

"No! I can't boost up his regeneration rate if he's deteriorating it while he drinks!". Oscar slaps Leek on the back of his neck. "Think for a second would you?!".

"Oh my Kai, out of the way". Yule wraps his arms around Rojito and pulls him away from the bar. The majin struggles but he can't put up much of a fight since he's practically melting in Yule's hold.

"Okay everyone, the fight is over, now move", Oscar shouts as he and Leek push open a path to lead Yule away from the bar. 

Now it's just you and Cell, surrounded by a bunch of strangers.

The murmuring of the crowd bounces off your ears. Your heart is beating loud enough to block out everything they are saying, unfortunately it's so loud it makes it hard to think too.

But you don't need to think too much to feel your hands ball into fists and your stance shift into a solid form.

The urge to attack almost takes complete control over you when Cell suddenly decides to raise his empty shot glass and addresses the public.

"Anyone else want to prove themselves inferior to me?", he laughs.

"No! We aren't doing that!". You shout out before anyone can answer him. The scare he gave you allows your heart to still long enough for you to realize that you have to leave before you do anything irrational. So you pull Cell off of the stool, a little too hard since you were expecting him to resist. Because of this, he stumbles a bit to regain his footing.

"Whatever is the matter?". He straightens up and raises a brow. "Don't tell me you want to challenge me?".

"No, Cell. We have to go". 

He allows you to pull him away from the bar, which you find strange. Not that you're complaining, actually you are quite grateful he didn't have a fit. But it's still strange.

The multitude parts as you walk towards them, their eyes following your every move.

As soon as you make it out of there, you bolt. You frantically scan the premises for a place to hide. Luckily, in the far corner of the penthouse you spot a lone door. 

So you rush in that direction, doing your best to avoid large groups.

It is only until you have the door closed behind you that you realize you where shaking.

For a while, the only noise inside is the sound of the deep inhale and exhale of your breath.

The whole ordeal had been a living nightmare.

Being faced by a judging crowd with the pungent smell of alcohol attacking your senses had triggered your fighting instincts. Once again, you rued your bar brawling years.

But before you began to wallow in self-hatred, Cell began to speak. Reminding you that you where not alone.

"Oh, love". He covered his growing smile, but the cruelty hidden behind his hand leaked out in the form of a laugh of contempt. "I knew you where worried about me, but this? Are you really shaking right now?".

But you aren't able to digest the mocking tone of his words at all. You're much too caught off guard by the pet name he had called you. So much that you're left sputtering.

"Ah-I-um-you". You run a hand down your face, trying to compose yourself. Yet, when you try to speak again you still stutter out a half baked, "Just..What kind of- Why would you-".

"I'm fine, really". He leans in to pat your cheek. His hand is as cold as the intention behind the gesture. "I can digest and regenerate more efficiently than that red creature. It seems his mushy body can recuperate from anything, unless it's a severe chemical imbalance". Cell ceases patting you, but keeps a hold on your cheek. "How unfortunate. I really thought he was going to put up more of a fight".

"Cell, I wasn't even thinking about you back there". You take the hand resting on your cheek and remove it. 

Cell crosses his arms, a mocking grin still plastered on his face. "Why the sudden rush to remove me from the bar then? You could have left by yourself".

"Because…".

But as much as you hate to admit it, you could not respond to that question without reaffirming his accusation. Yes, you had a clear head for a split second which helped you decide it was time to book it. Yet, you didn't have to take Cell with you. It didn't seem like he was uncomfortable in a crowd, or like he was drunk out of his mind.

Now that you think about it, he would have had a good time at the bar. That is, if anyone would have the guts to challenge him after Rojito's defeat.

The only reasoning that made sense as to why you had dragged Cell along is because you couldn't leave him in a place where you felt in danger. 

In other words, you where unconsciously worried for his safety.

But you'd rather go back outside and fight at the bar than give Cell the satisfaction of humiliating you like he did at the carnival.

"....if I left you there you would have kept competing. You have to understand that everyone else has a normal functioning liver not whatever regenerative monstrosity you have".

"I see you are beginning to verbalize your admiration of my perfection". Cell brushes his shoulder, as if the action would make his chitin any more lustrous. "It's about time".

You raised a brow, incredulous at how quickly he twisted your wording into a compliment. "I'm really not, sweet heart", you laughed.

"Whatever you say, love", he shot back.

You weren't thinking when you pointed a firm finger at him and growled, "Stop that".

But the instant those words left your mouth, you realized the mistake you had made.

Cell's smile pulled back to show a row of perfectly straight teeth. They part into two as he opens his mouth to call you, "My love".

A familiar tightness flooded your chest as soon as those words reached your ears.

You instinctively step back, trying to gain some distance between the two of you. Unfortunately, you end up tripping on the tangles of a mop and crash into the door. Only now you realize that you are in the tight confinement of a utility room full of cleaning products and tools. 

The best you could do to avoid his presence now was to look away. So you firmly stare at your feet as you try to ignore the pressure painfully twisting your heart.

But that uncomfortable feeling in your chest sunk down to your stomach the moment Cell placed a finger under your chin and tilted your head up.

His eyes bore right into yours. And even if 

he was so close his breath was brushing on your cheek, you could not tear away.

You had never been this close to him without a heated argument being exchanged between the two of you. The absence of anger and hatred made room for a mix of cruel amusement and-

But before you could decipher what other emotions you could see, you caught sight of what was past his eyes. 

You. 

The reflection was small and meek as it cowered against a door. It was so unlike yourself that you almost did not believe it belonged to you.

This made the cold pit in your stomach begin to warm.

You turn your face away from Cell as you slap his hand off of you. And when he decides to immobilize you again by calling you, "My love", the warmth in your stomach rises to your throat.

"You're so annoying". You hiss as you shove Cell aside, making him stumble on a bucket. With one hand on the doorknob, you turn towards the door. "I'm out of here", you huff.

"My, all that trouble to find me and now you decide to leave?", he laughed.

That stopped you from turning the knob.

"I wasn't looking for you. I was having fun with Oscar and Yule all night". It is then that you turn to face Cell. "It just so happened that you decided to make a scene at the bar".

Cell scrutinized the cleanliness of his nails as he casually responded with, "Then I suppose you begged me to stay just because?".

You now face your whole person towards him, hand still firmly holding the doorknob.

"I didn't want to be alone in a party full of strangers, not like you helped with that since you ditched me!", you shout in frustration.

Cell briefly looked away from his nails to hold eye contact with you. "I simply went to investigate a high power level, I was planning on going back", he shrugged.

"Whatever". You turn towards the door again, ready to leave the confinement of the utility room. "I already found my friends, so you can go home now".

You hear him step closer to you, but he does not get in your personal space again. "Hmmmm, I don't think so. Tonight has turned out to be quite entertaining", he muses.

"Do whatever you want then, just stay out of trouble", is what you say before you finally turn the doorknob.

The door opens slightly as you pull on it, but shuts abruptly. You look up at Cell, to see he had a hand holding it closed. 

You slowly breathe out of your nose, Cell just loved getting the better of you. Yet, you still had the patience to calmly ask him, "Can you let go of the door? I want to go back to Oscar and Yule".

Cell leans a little closer to you, "Not until you admit you where worried about me", he taunts.

You pinch the bridge of your nose with your free hand, "You're still on about that?", you sigh.

Cell leans back to his full height as he laughs, "I'm waiting".

He just doesn't give up, does he? You already embarrassed yourself earlier, that wasn't going to happen a second time. 

You've been holding back for too long.

Cell wanted to get a rise out of you? Then it's about time he gets a sense of how it feels.

And you have a vague idea of how to give him a taste of his own medicine.

"Oooohh, I get it". You let go of the doorknob and turn to face him fully. "You're jealous".

Cell raised a brow, "Jealous? What exactly can perfection incarnate be jealous of?", he snorted.

"There's no need to act all tough, darling". You reach out to place a comforting hand on Cell's arm. "I'm your only friend, it's understandable that you can't help feeling left out when I meet up with other people". You begin to stroke his arm with your thumb. "I'm sorry I didn't realize sooner, dear".

For a brief second, his face contorted into such a deep frown it looked like his whole head was going to fold to the center of his face, but he caught himself. He quickly turns his scrunched up face into a smooth grin.

"Very clever, love". Cell laughed as he slaps your hand off of him. "Anyone lesser would have succumbed to outrage towards your little poke to the ego".

You're a little surprised he'd caught on to your game so fast, but that does not deter your efforts. After all, his proximity was perfect for what you had in mind next.

"Cell, really, there's no need to brush off how hurt you are". You step a little closer to Cell. "I should have paid more attention to you". It's then that you wrap your arms around him and rest your head on his chest. "I'm so sorry, sweetheart", you coo.

Cell immediately freezes under your touch, making you burst with laughter.

"I thought only lesser minds succumbed to-"

But your jest is caught in your throat as Cell swiftly wraps his arms around you to give a bone crushing hug back. He lets you struggle under his grasp for a bit before leaning into your ear, "What was that, love?", he hisses.

You can't say anything back, not even breathe for a matter of fact.

Just as your face begins to turn red, Cell finally lets go of you. "Now never try that again, unless you want to throw up your spine", he snarls as you try to catch your breath.

"Kais, you are such a sore loser", you cough. You're so light headed you have to lean on the door.

But that doesn't stop Cell from casting a glare your way, "I do not lose", he growled.

"Oh, relax". You straighten up, a bit sore but able. Placing a hand on the doorknob, you open up the door. Before you completely exit the room, you stop at the doorway. "I'm gonna go now, call me if you need me".

And with that, you close the door behind you, leaving Cell in the utility room.

It takes you a minute to find Oscar and Yule again. Mostly because Oscar did not have a time watch on and Yule wasn't answering his own. 

Thankfully Oscar had texted you from Rojito's watch, so you end up heading towards the "off limits" part of the penthouse. Which you find out is the bedroom area. However, it's easy to make it through security since Oscar meets you outside and leads you to Rojito's room.

Said majin is passed out on his bed, but Oscar gives the okay to hang there. He needs to keep an eye on him, after all.

So the three of you boot up a capsule corp game console and have a fun little party away from the party. 

There is not a moment where anyone outside raises their ki to fight, there are no noise complaints, or any other hiccups through the night. 

Although, the tranquility does leave you wondering what Cell is up to. Maybe he got bored and already went home? Or is quietly stalking Leek, the second strongest patroller? 

Nevertheless, you are glad to finally have a chance to relax with friends. It has been some time since you got a break from Cell and the kids. Not that the kids wore you down as much as their father, but it's nice to have some time to yourself every once in a while. 

But despite having a good time with Oscar and Yule, you did not have complete peace of mind.

Every now and then, you'd check your time watch. Everytime, your message box would be empty. 

Oscar would throw a little tantrum when you'd tell him that Maria hadn't answered. To calm him, you'd reassure him with: "She's busy, but that doesn't mean she won't make it".

However, midnight was approaching and there was still no sign of her.

Before you know it, all guests at the party are gathered around the multiple screens centered in the vast living room. Everyone has a glass in their hand, waiting anxiously to toast for the new years. Including Yule, Oscar and yourself.

_ Ten! _

_ Nine! _

_ Eight! _

You break your eyes from the countdown on the screen and focus on your time watch. Pressing the side buttons, you search around your message box to find that you have no new texts. Again.

Oscar lays a hand on your shoulder and leans in to peek at your watch. 

_ Seven! _

_ Six! _

With the crowd counting down, all you can do is shake your head to let him know Maria had not answered. His eyebrows knit into a frown and his hand curls into your shoulder, a sign that told you he was going to give her an earful for this.

You on the other hand, felt your heart fall into your stomach. 

_ Five! _

_ Four! _

This was going to be the first time the three of you were split apart for new years. You understood that Maria was busy right now, she couldn't help it if she was stuck in a time rift. So why...

You reached up to the hand on your shoulder and squeezed it.

_ Three! _

_ Two! _

..did it feel wrong?

_ One! _

The multitude cheered louder than before, confetti was thrown in the air, wine bottles where busted open, your time watch ringed, patrollers patted each other on the back-

You snapped your neck towards the sound of your ringtone. You almost leapt in joy, thinking it was Maria. But as soon as you read the caller name you saw it was just a number, not her name flashing on the screen.

You signaled to Oscar that you where going to take the call before weaving your way towards a quiet place: a bathroom.

Once the door was closed behind you, you swiftly answered the call.

"Hello? Who is this?", you ask.

"Hi. I'm calling from the Conton City Hospital. We reached out to you because you are registered as Maria Agilar's emergency contact-"

The worker at the other end of the phone kept on talking, but 'Conton City Hospital' and 'Maria's emergency contact' was echoing too loud in your head for you to hear anything else.

You had to hold on to the sink, your legs feeling like jelly under you.

The only time the Conton City Hospital called anyone was if a regen tank, namekian healers, or senzu beans could not help a patient.

"I'll be there", was all you had the strength to say before ending the call.

Who knows how long it lasted, but to you time had seemed to stop entirely.

You opened the faucet on the sink and rinsed your face. Water dripped down your chin as you stared back at your reflection.

With the way your chest rose and fell too quickly, eyes glazed over in a silent threat to spill, and hands trembling as you gripped the closed faucet, it was clear you wouldn't be able to go back to the party. But you couldn't just leave without Oscar, Maria needed you both.

Your hands tremble as you reach out for the door. When you finally clasp your hand around the doorknob, you force yourself to twist it.

"Maria needs us", is what you whisper to yourself as you emerge from the bathroom and surf through the crowd.

But as you reach the spot where your group had been standing for the countdown, you find that it's occupied by someone else.

You swim through a sea of faces, desperately trying to locate your friends.

Why the hell had they moved?! 

More tears began to glaze over your eyes, blurring everyone together as if water had been splashed over a wet painting. You desperately try to blink them away, try to be able to distinguish the faces surrounding you. But it's futile. Colors and features and everything in between is nothing but tears running down your face.

It is then that you catch the sound of a shrill laugh.

An unusual broken laugh that is sucked in instead of bursting out.

Only Oscar laughs like that.

With renewed strength, you begin to push through the multitude of patrollers again.

The closer you get, the thinner the crowd becomes. Eventually you catch sight of Oscar and Yule.

They are much too busy chatting up some random patroller to notice you coming. It's until you're right in front of them that they catch sight of you.

Their laughter dies down and smiles fall into a look of concern. 

When the patroller they where speaking to reaches out to hand them some zeni, Oscar waves it off and makes it so the stumbling patroller is on his merry way.

You wipe away the remnants of your tears as you explain that Maria is bedridden in the Conton City Hospital.

Oscar's expression is guarded as he wordlessly takes your arm and begins to march towards the nearest exit.

Yule follows from a distance, trying to give the two of you space but also too worried to leave you be.

Once you arrive, the hospital staff bombards you with paperwork and health status reports as they rush you and Oscar to the emergency wing. 

Only you and Oscar.

Yule is forced to stay behind in the waiting area since he is not an emergency contact for the afflicted patroller.

At least that's what the nurses tell him. 

A whirl of emotions begin to swim in your stomach as you stand outside her room. Anxiety.

Seeing her broken and beaten, will you be able to take it? Will you break alongside her? 

Worry. 

Will she ever be okay after she's healed? Will her traumatic experience lead to her retirement?

Anger.

Why her? How could her team let this happen? 

You are going to scalp whoever laid a finger on her.

Regret.

Maybe if you where still in the same team, she wouldn't be bedridden with no hope of a senzu to heal her.

Denial.

This can't be happening. Maria is sturdy and resilient. You've ended up in a healing tank more often than her, have eaten more senzu beans than you can count, need more time off in between missions than her.

Maria being so damaged that no medical procedures can help is simply impossible.

And all those emotions are snuffed into dust as soon as you walk inside to see her.

You feel numb as you watch how some of her teammates weep over her sleeping form.

At least it looks as if she's asleep. But as you approach her dormant figure, you see her sunken eyes, her sickly pale skin, the dull color of her long hair.

What happened to her?

"Weren't you listening?". Oscar sighed as he sat on one of the guest chairs on the side of Maria's bed. "She was missing too much brain matter, senzu beans restored it but can't give back the functions lost. She won't wake up".

Still. 

Everything goes still.

You can't feel anything, can't think of anything, can't do anything but stare intensely at the lifeless body your friend has become.

"It's all my fault". An older woman kneeling at Maria's bedside hiccuped. "I wasn't strong enough, all I could do was watch helplessly as that bastard bashed her head in".

A pigtailed girl next to the woman took hold of her hand. "Our formation breaking was out of our control, Kaya", she tearfully assured her.

"Sarah is right, we were picked apart one by one. No one could have prevented that", a young lady with an eyepatch over her right eye voiced from across the room.

"No!". Kaya rose from her kneeling, towering over everyone in the room. "We are going back, I'm going to make that-"

"Stop". Oscar glanced from Maria back to Kaya. "After what happened to her? No you're not. I suggest the four of you begin searching for the dragon balls to get Maria back to normal".

"Tch! You think because you're one of the top patrollers in the city I'm going to-"

"I'm not asking that as a high ranking patroller". Oscar rose from his seat and glared directly into Kaya's eyes. "I'm asking that as a member of her family. There's a lot we have to take care of for Maria to get back to full health". Oscar gestures to you. "Too much for just the two of us".

Kaya knitts her brows together, but before she has the chance to argue a woman with blue hair steps in. "You can count on us, Maria will be back up in no time", she agreed with a nod.

"Yeah! Let's go look right now, there's no time to waste!", Sarah cheered as she headed out the door without saying goodbye.

The one with the eyepatch sighs and walks towards the door. "C'mon guys, before Ms.Pigtails hurts herself". She waves a goodbye as she exits the room.

Oscar thanks the two remaining women in advance. Kaya doesn't look happy, but she doesn't complain as she heads out.

"Sorry about that, Oscar, we are just on edge right now. Let me know if you need anything else".

"It's fine. Thank you, Hina".

And with that, the woman with blue hair takes her leave.

It's quiet after that.

You and Oscar just sit side by side on the guest chairs and stare at Maria in silence.

There aren't even any thoughts running through your head or any emotions squeezing tears out of your eyes. You simply stare numbly at your oldest friend, one of the few people you consider family, laying almost lifeless before you. It isn't until you see Oscar reach out for Maria's balled up fists that you break your gaze from her.

"What is this?". Oscar mutters as he opens her fist to find a slim red chip inside. "A memory chip?".

His eyes snap open, as if he'd just woken up from a bad dream. Oscar turns to you, "Give me your watch, now".

It takes you a second to process what he is saying, but you do unbuckle your watch and hand it over to him.

He fidgets with it to open the compartment on the back. When he's done, Oscar takes out a similar looking chip from your watch and plugs in the one Maria had.

Once the watch reboots, Oscar scowls as he stares at the screen.

"Everything was deleted except for one contact". He tilted the watch to give you a chance to see. Oscar curses under his breath as he clicks on the nameless contact. There was only one message: a video.

Oscar glanced at you, and then back at the watch.

"Here goes nothing", he mutters as he clicks on the video.

The recording begins with a pile of rubble and stone, but then the camera shifts to someone. 

Someone you have met before.

A woman with red hair and orange skin.

"Hey, champion". She waves her hand and smiles coyly. "Kind of odd for our paths to cross again, don't you think?".

Before your silence was rooted from numbness, but now you where quiet because you were stunned. Out of all the things you would see in a suspicious recording under an unknown number, you certainly were not expecting this.

"It's such a rare occurrence for that to happen to two people who are from different timelines, especially one as obscure as mine". The woman shifted the camera so you could see all of her upper body instead of just her face. 

She looked stronger than when you had met, taller and bulkier. Heck, she looked happier too. Back at the arena it seems she was only capable of feeling rage. 

"So I just had to get you a gift, a little way of ensuring you'd come and personally thank me for it". But the little bit of positive emotion you could muster at seeing her doing well sunk into your stomach and turned into ice the moment she shifted the camera again. This time it was not focusing on her, but Maria. Oscar made a high pitched gasp and immediately dropped your watch, hands jumping to cover his eyes.

Unfortunately, you got a glimpse of the state she was in.

Skull crushed inward, bloody and gooey beyond recognition.

But the black hair...her long black hair... there was no mistaking it was Maria.

"Although, I admit I'm not very good at arts and crafts, I think I did an exceptional job with..what was her name… Mary?".

The coldness inside you began to heat up. To boil into outrage and hatred.

Hot fiery tiers stung your eyes as they began to run down your cheeks.

"Oh, like it matters". 

That broke the dam that was already struggling to hold back your ire. You pointed, with hands trembling, ready to fire a ki-blast at the source of the video.

"Anyways, I will see you-"

But before you had a chance to fire, Oscar stomped the time watch, shattering it into little pieces.

He was breathing heavily, eyes narrowed, glaring as he ground his foot on bits of metal.

He pressed harder into the floor until the tiles cracked under the force.

Tears pooled in his eyes, he furiously wiped them away, fighting the urge to break down.

But you knew it was time for the both of you to stop resisting it.

The two of you had to accept that you weren't there for her. That while you were both dancing and playing videogames, Maria was being beaten within an inch of her life.

You reached out to Oscar, a single touch had him doubling over with his hands covering his face to let out a wail of sorrow.

You wrapped your arms around him and buried your face in his shoulder. 

The two of you openly wept.

Wept for Maria.

  
  
  



	13. The Day Before the Rift

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long one at the bottom o.o

There aren't many health capsules left in the first aid kit, so you pocket them all. 

"Please! I'm begging you, don't!", Yule sighed in frustration as he tried to take the kit away from you.

You wordlessly keep him at bay with your left arm while your unoccupied hand shoves as many supplies as you can into your bag. 

Tired of your silence, Yule wraps his tail around your other arm to stop you.

"Listen to me! You aren't even in the condition to-"

"Shut up already!!". You shout so suddenly that Yule loosens his grip enough for you to push him away. "I know what I'm doing".

Yule doesn't answer then, just stares at you.

There's no anger or fear, but hurt smeared on his delicate features.

You can't stand it, so you turn away from him and begin to rummage through the cabinet under the sink. The first aid kit was already empty of anything useful anyways.

"I know". Yule kneels next to you, leaving some space for you to be comfortable. "I know, that's why I'm trying to stop you".

"Nothing is going to stop me from ripping that redhead bitch apart, not even you".

From the corner of your eye, you see Yule frown disapprovingly. 

Since you left the hospital, he's been trying to talk you down from jumping into the time rift Maria had come out of. Now he is mute. Defeated.

Yule stands up, giving you one last look over. He pulls at his horns as he, yet again, sighs in frustration.

"Fine! But you aren't going without us, got it?". His tail snaps behind him. "So wait until I come back with Manus and Jicama, please?".

You pause your search, unsure of how to respond. 

It's currently three in the morning, Manus and Jicama must be asleep by now. Or maybe even at a party. Is it really okay to involve them in this? To involve Yule in this?

"Yule". You stand up to face him. "This is something Oscar and I have to take care of".

Yule rolls his eyes. "You mean the Oscar who went to throw himself on your bed?", he huffs as his tail lashes behind him again.

"He's asleep?", you ask dumbly.

You where so focused on leaving, you hadn't noticed Oscar wasn't in the bathroom with the two of you. 

"The second we got back to your apartment he went to your room". Yule stepped towards you to place a gentle hand on your arm. "And I think you should do the same".

You shrug his touch away and turn towards the mirror. Opening the face, you begin to look through the cabinet for anything useful.

"Relax. I'm still planning on getting Manus and Jicama. Once we've all rested for a couple of hours I promise the first thing we'll do is go to the time rift".

You spare him a glance to see his big pleading eyes.

"We're your team. Please don't leave us behind".

You grab a bottle from the cabinet and try to feign interest in it. 

An agreement wants to form on your tongue, but you refrain from speaking it out loud. 

What if they get hurt?

What if you can't protect them?

You grip the bottle in your hand, almost making it crack.

But if it's just you and Oscar…

Memories of the past resurface at the thought of him getting hurt.

Back then, you couldn't protect him either. He was the one rushing into a battle he couldn't possibly win.

He was the one getting you back up.

He was the one patching up your wounds.

He is the very reason you and Maria decided to split the party. To protect him.

And now you wanted to repeat that, sans one teammate?

You shoved the bottle back into the cabinet. With one hand over the face of the mirror, you swing it closed.

Yule's reflection stares back at you. He's waiting for you to answer.

And you want to agree so badly. To tell him that you're so relieved he said that. That you'll wait till morning to leave.

But you can't.

You can't protect Oscar. 

You can't protect Yule, or Jicama, or Manus.

Now you realize that you can't allow any of them to come with you.

"No, Yule. I have to do this on my own".

You look away from the mirror and towards the sink below. You don't want to see his reaction. The sorrow, or rejection, or anger, you won't be able to take it. 

You'll break. 

You'll agree.

You're about to ask him to leave, but another voice cuts in first.

"My, going on a time rift alone?". Cell leaned on the bathroom door frame, lazily picking at his nails. "Funny, you where always adamant about having a team".

You rub your temples, already feeling a headache settling in. 

It seemed you weren't the only one bothered by his presence: Yule turned to him and hissed, "Stay out of this, Cell".

"It's not my fault you two are so loud", Cell huffed.

"Both of you, just go", you sigh.

Cell loses interest on his nails and focuses on you instead. "I've never seen you this ticked off before, there's no way I'm missing the spectacle", he laughs.

"You think this is funny?",Yule growls as he marches up to Cell, a scowl adorning his face.

Cell leans down, dangerously close to Yule, and hissed, "I thought that was a given".

The sound of them bickering becomes too much. You decide to march out of the bathroom, pushing past them and into the living room. Sadly, you don't get too far. Not with Yule suddenly standing between you and the front door of the apartment.

"Where do you think you're going?".

With a downcast gaze and a firm grip on your bag, you answer, "The time rift, obviously".

Yule tries to look you in the eye, but you keep turning away from him. He eventually gives up. "No you're not", he sighs tiredly.

"Right". There is still one thing you need to do before you leave. You turn away from Yule and walk up to Cell. Digging into your pocket, you fetch out your wallet and retrieve your patroller card. You reach out for his hand and place the card in his palm. "In case you need extra zeni for food and utilities". You're already making your way to the balcony before Cell has the chance to react. 

Again, you don't make it far with Yule blocking your way.

His arms outstretched and tail lashing. He begins to lecture you.

"I'm not going to let you go by yourself-"

"That isn't for you to decide", you cut off.

"You're kidding right?". Cell approaches you from behind and stops a few paces away. "Look at you, with those puffy red eyes and nose, you're pitiful".

Yule nods, arms still out, ready to grab you in case you decide to bolt.

"Yeah. You can't go fight anyone with such a defeated look", he chimes in.

For a fraction of a second, you snap out of your grief stricken daze to arch an incredulous eyebrow at your friend.

"That wasn't exactly what I meant". Cell closed the distance between the two of you. With one hand, he cupped your face and forced you to meet his eyes. "You can't go and face an enemy like this. They will take advantage of your pathetic weakened state". His grip tightened, slightly mushing your cheek in his hand. "You'll be dead before you know it".

You shook out of his grasp, a visible frown on your face. "Did you just say I'm too emotional to fight?", you huffed.

"Oh, so you're level-headed right now?", Cell snaps as he gestures at your pouring eyes.

You swiftly rub off the tears running down your face.

How long have you been crying?

Without a warning, or a chance for you to regain your composure, Cell picks you up from under your arms.

"Get a hold of yourself". He sighed in annoyance as he made his way towards your room. "Once your condition improves, we will go jump into any time rift you want".

"We?", you croak pathetically.

"Why, yes". He sets you down in front of your door. A visible smirk is plastered on his face. "You're such a soft hearted idiot, I'm curious to see if you'll follow through with your threats"

You shoot him an accusing glare.

"Wait-Threats? How long where you listening in on me?".

"Since you got here". Cell shrugged. "You are quite loud".

"You're..I can't..". You let out a puff of air, already feeling all the emotional and physical stress taking over your body now that you were so close to your room. Maybe Yule and Cell where right, you needed to rest. Maybe all this stress and fear was coming from an irrational part of your brain.

So without another word, you turned towards your room and opened the door to welcome the darkness within. 

The sun is up and shining through your curtains by the time you wake up. Bleary-eyed and groggy, you glance towards the digital clock resting on your nightstand.

It's late in the afternoon.

You get up with a start. Jumping out of your bed and tossing your clothes off in favor of your patrolling gear. In the corner of your eye, you catch a glimpse of Oscar, he is still deep in slumber.

"You, wake up". You shake Oscar. "It's super late already".

He slaps your hand away and buries himself deeper into his pillow. Instead of shaking him again you sit down beside him.

"Okay then, I just wanted to say goodbye before I left", you sighed.

Oscar shoots up at that, starling you in the process.

"Left? You mean Maria's-the time rift?!".

"Where else would I go?".

"You can't. I broke your timewatch remember?". Oscar rubbed his face, trying to get rid of any sleepiness that still remained. "Someone else could have claimed that rift by now".

"I wasn't planning on reserving the rift. I can just hijack it", you laugh, not really bothered by patroller legality right now.

Oscar grabbed the closest pillow and swatted you on the head before shouting. "Think for a second. Without a watch how would you come back to Conton City? Kais!".

"I...well..", you stuttered as the top of your head took another pillow smack.

"Exactly". He lowers the pillow on his lap, satisfied with the beating he just gave you. He yawns and stretches before speaking again. "Anyways, I'm up. Let's go to my place. I'll give you my timewatch and lay out the game plan".

You blink, a little caught off guard. He just woke up, so you couldn't help but let some doubt slip into your voice as you answered with, "You already thought of something?".

"Yeah, and I don't want to hear you complaining about it".

Oscar tosses the blanket aside and gets up. You follow behind him as he opens the bedroom door and leads the way out. Which was a mistake on his part. 

As soon as Oscar stepped into the living room, he was swooped into a suffocating embrace.

"Yule told us everything!". A giant namekian in full plate armor wept. "Please let us come with you! We will help! Please!".

"Uh, Manus, I think you got the wrong person there", Jicama speaks up from across the room.

Manus doesn't immediately end the hug, instead he shifts Oscar in his arms just enough to see who he was hugging. 

Once he realizes his mistake, he lets out a small surprised gasp and swiftly places Oscar back on the ground. "I'm so sorry", he laughs.

Oscar, a clear blush on his face, looks up at Manus and giggles. "No, it's fine. I don't mind being held against such a muscular chest".

"Oscar". You sigh at his blatant flirting. Before you can scold him, Jicama walks up to you to greet you. 

With Manus and Jicama here, you don't know if to feel relieved or apprehensive. Apparently sleep didn't help change your mind about your team joining you.

Speaking of, you noticed it was incomplete.

"Where's Yule?", you ask as you glance around the apartment.

"Making breakfast". Jicama brushed her raven hair back. "You aren't the only one who woke up a couple of minutes ago".

"You just got up?", you ask as you look her over. She's battle ready, with her saiyan armor on and everything.

Jicama shrugged as she explained, "Yeah, Yule called us in the middle of the night. So we basically crashed on your couch. Patroller gear and all." 

"It's ready!", Yule shouts from the kitchen.

You rubbed your arms, unsure of the situation. If you stayed, then the team would definitely tag along. However, if you left now, they wouldn't have a chance to persuade you.

"I really don't think I have time to sit and eat", you said as an excuse to leave.

But Jicama clasped your shoulder and gave you a knowing smile. "Calm down, we snooped around the hospital paperwork you left on the coffee table and got the rift ID. In other words, we had Cell reserve the mission already", she retorted while getting a grip on your shoulder and pulling you across the living room.

"Cell?", you blurted, so baffled by the revelation that you had not even noticed that you were moving. 

Jicama shrugged as she answered, "Yeah, I would have done it but the rift was boosted up to a God tier level".

Now that left you dumbfounded. So much so that all you could do was stutter out, "Cell is a rank above- he- when-?"

"About a week after graduation". Cell pops out of the dining room, a smug smirk on his face. "Honestly, I'm slightly offended that you are so surprised by the fact".

You had no answer for that. 

Truthfully, you were a little crushed, which was evident by the way you pathetically mumbled, "It took me years to get to Kai tier…".

Cell's smirk widens at that. "I know, I'm perfect", he laughs.

Oscar rolls his eyes and moves Cell to the side, finally stopping him from blocking the entrance to the dining room. "Yeah, yeah. C'mon the food is getting cold", he grumbled. 

  
  


Scrambled eggs, veggies, and a nice cup of coffee is what greets you as you enter the dining room.

You are half grateful and half weary. The false sense of security created by pleasant food will definitely wear you down. If you start eating now you may just agree to the team joining you in the time rift.

Yet, before anyone has a chance to enjoy their meal, Oscar raises his glass and taps it with his fork to create a high pitch _ ting _.

Now with everyone's attention focused on him, he sets the cup and fork down.

"I don't want us to waste too much time, so I'm going to go ahead and relay the plan that I have in mind for this whole rift mess. It does involve all of you, after all".

Involve all of you? He means that, from the beginning, he was going to make you go into the rift with a team?

You raise your hand, a protest ready to shoot out, but Oscar cuts you off by physically covering your mouth.

You just had to sit next to him, huh?

"First of all, I want to clarify that it's your team, Jicama, that will be going into the time rift. I will not be joining you as a fifth member,that responsibility goes to Cell". He stares down Jicama, pausing to let her speak in case she has any protests. However, only silence and a stern nod is what she responds with. This encourages Oscar to continue. 

"It may be risky- and against regulation since the mission is now a God tier while all of you are Kai tier- but I think it's for the best". He studies each one of the faces lined up around the table. "You are all almost at a God tier level however, so if you stick together and get creative I think you will be able to pull it off".

You give out an annoyed huff and forcefully remove the hand preventing you from speaking

"But I don't-"

Yet, Oscar swiftly covers your mouth again, this time with both of his hands.

"Meanwhile, my team and I will take care of things out here". He paused as he struggled to keep your mouth shut since you began squirming in his grasp. "We have enough influence to dig into this mess, to see what went wrong in the time rift Maria came out of". Once you hear your friend's name, you pause in your attempt to free yourself. Your interest now completely on the topic. "My guess: there was a ranking error. This mission should not have been considered a Kai tier in the first place". Oscar gave out a tired sigh, his eyes gleaming with a hint of resentment. "I'm afraid to say it, but there's a fifty/fifty chance it was an outside influence or plain incompetence on our patroller system".

You cast down your eyes, understanding completely the implication of Oscar's reasoning. 

It hadn't even crossed your mind, you were just ready to avenge Maria, but it was possible that the redhead woman was not the only one responsible for your friend's hospitalization. 

Most often than not, reports from lower leveled scouts were not taken seriously. The ranks of time rifts, or any other missions, were mislabeled. Marked under a lower difficulty rank than they really were. 

It wasn't the first time someone got seriously injured because of this, and yet nothing was done to regulate it. 

Jicama quirks an eyebrow, confusion leaking in her tone of voice as she spoke. "Then you should leave that to Trunks, he's as gifted as Bulma when it comes to tech".

Yule leans back to glare at the ceiling. "Really? Trunks? Let's be honest, he will solve the problem if someone hacked into the system but not if patroller bias was the culprit", he spat.

Jicama's eyed slightly widened, realization finally downing on her.

Manus rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably, "Don't you think that's a bit harsh?", he mumbled.

"He hasn't been taking action about God and Super tiers stealing time rifts". Yule's tail lashes behind him as he recalls all the times your team has filed reports just to have them go unanswered. "What makes you think he will be able to handle this?".

You gently tug at Oscar's hands.

He turns to you, giving you a long look before finally uncovering your mouth.

"I hate to say it, but Yule is right". You pinch your arms, not happy to lay the blame on your boss but aware of his shortcomings. "If Trucks wasn't so incompetent Maria wouldn't have…".

You can't even say it.

But Oscar comes to the rescue when he reaches out to lay a gentle hand on your own. "That's why I'm taking over things here in Conton City. I will keep Chronoa and Trunks off of your backs while you're in the rift", he explains.

"But you all have to be very careful, there's a possibility this rift is a Super tier". He turns to you then. His grip tightens on your hand and his voice takes on a serious note. "I need you to promise that you will run away if there's even a doubt in your mind that the rift may be a Super tier".

You stare back at him, uncertainty settling in your stomach.

You don't want to run away. 

Not if she gets to escape. 

Not if she gets to live. 

But you can't say no to Oscar, he won't let you go if you don't swear on it. You can see it in the desperation of his eyes, the way his hands begin to shake as he keeps his grip on your hand.

"I promise, we will teleport back to the city if things get dicey", you sigh.

"Thank-"

"Pfft, really?". Cell butts in from the living room. "You expect us to come back defeated?".

Oscar cranes his neck to shoot him a glare. "If you don't agree with those terms, then you aren't going into the rift", he warned.

"I'm going no matter what you say", Cell scoffed.

With all the commotion going on, you had forgotten Cell wanted to be part of the mission too.

That was going to be difficult. 

He was strong and could regenerate fast, but he was not a team player. Who knows how much of a dynamic he would have with the team.

Not only that...

You lean back on your chair to look at Cell, who was lounging on the couch. "Wait, if you're really going… who will be taking care of the kids?".

"Duplication technique, remember?". Cell rolled his eyes. "Why do you think those brats aren't pestering me right now?".

You flash him a disapproving glare but then realize that the house is, in fact, a little emptier.

"Oh, it _ is _ awful quiet. Where are they?".

Cell waved you off. "I took them out, obviously", he said nonchalantly.

His dismissive actions were slightly annoying, but you still put in the effort to remind him of the drawback of the technique.

"But if you use the duplication technique your power will be halved". 

Cell shifted on the couch to rest his arm on the armchair, a smug little smile creeping up his face as he declared, "I doubt I will need to use even half of my power in this little excursion". 

You suppressed a sigh, instead choosing to scold him lightly.

"Cell, we are going to a very dangerous time rift, I think it's best if we are all at our best".

"I'm perfect, can't get any better than that", was his answer.

You slightly raise your voice to call out,"Cell!", but before you can reprimand him Oscar cuts in.

"Let him be, no one else will be able to watch after your kids", Oscar picks up his fork and lets it hover over his plate as he adds, "Plus, if any of you use the timewatch emergency exit button it will teleport all of you back. One person disagreeing to use it won't make a difference". And with that he takes a bite out of the scrambled eggs before him, effectively ending the conversation. You and the rest of the party mull over his plan, not once breaking the silence that lingered over the dining room. 

A wave of calm wash over you. All this time, you really did not want to go into the rift by yourself. As you scan the dining table, watching everyone relaxed and enjoying their food, you realize that not only do you have to protect everyone here, but they will protect you in return 

After you all finish eating breakfast, the rest of the day is a blur.

Oscar takes the five of you to his apartment, up in the tall towers that faced the bamboo forest, and hands you over his timewatch. He also distributes whatever senzu or healing capsules he has to everyone; except Cell who outright refused, claiming that only the weak depended on such things.

Next thing you knew, you were standing at the top of a giant mushroom with the sun beating down your neck. A swirl of black and violet faced your team, ominous and crackling with energy. 

You turned to Oscar to hug him goodbye, the embrace lasting longer than it normally would. 

With one last look towards Conton City, you turned towards the time rift and jumped inside, your team promptly following behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What? A chapter a week after finishing the last one?  
Don't get too excited, it's a short one. The next two chapters are gonna be loonggg and will take hella time. May post it on two parts depending if I'm satisfied with it.  
P.s. Prob should have mentioned it earlier, but for those who have never played dbxv2, tier patroller levels go as follows (from highest to lowest):  
Super- Beerus and Broly lvl around here  
God -Goku and Veggie (super) around here  
Kai - Gotenks, 18 , Kamiccolo here  
Advanced - Zarbon, Frieza 1st form here  
Intermediate- Raditz, Nappa, baby Gohan here  
Easy- Tien, Krillin, Yamcha here  
P.s.P.s If non of you have figured by now, I like to think of the redhead orange skinned woman as a tamaranian (teen titans reference) lol  
Anyway, long ass note oops.  
But enjoy babes! Thanks for all the love uwu


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